It was a weekend where nothing went right for Eugenio Suárez in the batter’s box.
Suárez struck out in seven of his 13 at-bats and left 10 runners on base. He started three at-bats with a 3-0 count and they all turned into outs. The only time he made it to first base was on a fielder’s choice after St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman made a diving stop.
The biggest problem?
It hasn’t been limited to one weekend. It’s been a prolonged slump. Suárez is hitting .141 with three homers and seven RBI in 20 games. He’s tied with Javier Báez for the most strikeouts in the Majors (35).
“He’s searching, trying. It’s normal,” Reds manager David Bell said. “All of our hitters, Major League hitters, really great hitters like Geno go through this. He’s showing signs, he’ll have a game here and a game there where he’s seeing it better and it’s just a matter of time.
“He’s too good of a hitter, too good of a player. It turns around. It’s just a matter of how you handle it when you’re going through it. He’s doing everything in his power to turn it around as fast as he can. It’s going to happen.”
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The Reds lead the Majors in runs per game (5.57), but Suárez’s slump became more noticeable when the team fell into a seven-game losing streak. Suárez, the primary clean-up hitter, has only three RBI since April 11. Two of those RBI came on a two-run homer last week.
In the last 10 games, entering Monday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Suárez is 3-for-43 with two walks and 21 strikeouts. Teams are attacking him with low-and-away sliders and waiting for him to punish them for it.
One of the reasons why the Reds were comfortable moving Suárez to shortstop was the offensive advantage. He’s a below-average defender there, but it created an everyday spot for Jonathan India in the lineup.
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Bell said Sunday morning that Suárez has shown that he can handle shortstop, but maybe it has played a part in his slump.
“I think playing a new position and the fact that it’s shortstop, he’s had to put so much of his focus and so much of his energy on that position,” Bell said. “I do think there could be something to that.”
When Bell wrote his lineup card Monday, he kept Suárez in the clean-up spot. It wasn’t a surprise with lefty Julio Urías on the mound for the Dodgers. Suárez has crushed lefties throughout his career. Suárez occasionally hits third to deter opposing teams from using a lefty reliever with the three-batter minimum rule against the top of the lineup.
If Suárez continues to slump, Bell said dropping him in the batter order is something they would evaluate. But Bell hasn’t reached that point.
When is Suárez’s slump concerning?
“Not in April,” Bell said. “I’ve just seen it too many times, especially with good players and really good offensive players. It really is just a matter of time. Each and every day that goes by that he doesn’t feel great at the plate, it’s one day too long for him, I know. We hate to see any of our players go through it, but it is part of the process.
“I think we have to remind ourselves, even more this year, how early it is because last year was so short. The main thing is he’s doing everything he can. He’s working at it. He’s looking to make any adjustment he needs to make. It truly is a matter of time for him.”
When Suárez hit a two-run homer in the Reds’ 14-11 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, the Reds were hoping that it would’ve marked a step forward. For the Reds to be at their best, they need Suárez producing in the middle of the lineup.
“I mean, it’s no secret how talented he is, man,” Nick Castellanos said. “So anytime you see him gaining any sort of momentum, that’s huge, because he’s one of our most dangerous offensive weapons.”
AKIYAMA DEBUTS: Shogo Akiyama played in his first rehab game at the alternate site in Louisville on Sunday.
Akiyama played five innings and went hitless in three at-bats. He lined out to left field in his first at-bat and then grounded out in the other two at-bats.
It was his first time playing in a game since he strained his left hamstring trying to beat out a ground ball in the infield on March 13. The Reds are hopeful that he’ll be ready to return to the big-league roster next week once he accumulates more at-bats.
CY BAUER: Trevor Bauer will receive the 2020 National League Cy Young Award before Tuesday’s game against the Reds.
Bauer, who won’t face the Reds this series because he’s scheduled to pitch Thursday, was the first Reds pitcher in club history to win the Cy Young Award. He owns a 3-0 record and 2.53 ERA in five starts this season, striking out 45 in 32 innings.
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