July 7, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez (28) celebrates on the field after defeating the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports Eugenio Suarez’s bat was absent for the first three months of the season, but it is starting to heat up in July.
Suarez was a sub-.200 hitter at the start of the month, but he’s found his groove again. The Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman will look to keep his batting performance going when his club closes out a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night in Phoenix.
Suarez was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the offseason to provide an offensive boost. Instead, his power failed him and he hit just .172 in May and .156 in June.
He was hitting .196 at the start of July, but since then he’s hit .323 (10-for-31) with two homers, four doubles and 11 RBIs to raise his average to .208.
Suarez was one of Arizona’s many heroes in Wednesday’s 7-5 win over the Braves. He hit a two-run home run into the second deck in left field and also had a one-run double into the left-field corner.
Charlie Morton’s 138-yard home run was a moment of joy for Suarez, who has hit just eight home runs this season. He has hit 30 or more four times in his career.
“I knew I had a good breaking ball,” Suarez said of the home run. “I was looking for a mistake and I made one. I was ready. I took my best swing.”
It was Suarez’s second big game of the month. In Sunday’s 9-1 win over the San Diego Padres, he hit a home run and tied his career high with five RBIs.
Wednesday’s game also marked Arizona’s first victory over Atlanta in six meetings this season. The Diamondbacks now have a chance to win a series on Thursday.
“That was our mentality,” Suarez said. “We had to win this game. We came here with a belief.”
Atlanta won four straight games before losing Wednesday.
All-Star Marcell Ozuna hit a two-run home run for his 24th of the season, and Austin Riley had three hits. Ozuna’s home run tied the game in the eighth inning before Arizona scored two runs in the bottom of the inning.
“He’s been unbelievable,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Ozuna. “He’s made big plays, he’s always been able to make them in crucial moments. What he’s done is pretty remarkable.”
The Diamondbacks will look to burn Atlanta left-hander Max Fried (7-4, 3.18 ERA) for the second time this season.
Fried allowed a season-low eight runs (seven earned) in 4 1/3 innings in a 9-8 home win over Arizona on April 6. He was not penalized and is 1-0 with a 4.84 ERA in four career starts against the Diamondbacks.
Fried, 30, allowed 10 hits in that game, his worst performance until last Friday when he gave up 11, including two home runs. He allowed five runs in six innings in the loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Ketel Marte (4 for 11) and Suarez (3 for 9) each hit a home run off Fried. Kevin Newman is just 1 for 12.
Arizona will start right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (3-6, 4.19), who left his last start Saturday in the fifth inning after being hit in the left ankle by a ball off the bat of San Diego’s Luis Arraez.
But Pfaadt has recovered and will look to end a four-start winless streak. He allowed one run and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Padres before leaving the league.
Pfaadt, 25, faced Fried on April 6 in his first career start against Atlanta. He blew a 6-0 lead and had a no-decision. He allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, including a three-run home run to Ozuna.
Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (lower back discomfort) was scratched from Wednesday’s game, but manager Torey Lovullo later said Moreno will be in the lineup Thursday.
–Field level media
