Going, going, gone! Suarez was in a league of his own.
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez took the pleasure of cementing his name to a very exclusive list on Saturday night, becoming just the 19th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game despite an 8-7 extra innings loss to the Atlanta Braves.
The 33-year-old was seeing and hitting everything at the plate, hitting solo shots in the second, sixth and ninth innings, as well as a two-run jack in the fourth. In doing so, he became the first major-league player since J.D. Martinez in 2017, also ironically for the Diamondbacks, to achieve the extraordinary feat, one which is even rarer than a perfect pitcher’s game, of which there have been 24.
He now finds himself among prestigious company alongside the likes of Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig and fellow third baseman Mike Schmidt.
Suarez exchanged a signed hat, jersey and ball for the ball from his historic fourth homer, according to MLB.com.
“It’s awesome. I never thought in my life that I’d be able to hit four home runs in a game. To be honest, it feels great,” he said afterward.
“Obviously there’s mixed feelings right now because we didn’t win the game. But this is baseball, that’s why this game is so special.”
Suarez’s final blast of the evening tied the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Matt Olson scored on a wild pitch in the 10th to dampen the mood and spirits at Chase Field.
Embed from Getty ImagesSuarez, who is a Venezuela native, has hit 286 home runs over a 12-year career in the major leagues, with the Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners and Diamondbacks, and can claim two previous three-homer games, one in 2024 with Arizona, and another in 2020 with the Reds.
Nonetheless, he has struggled at the dish recently and started the day batting below the Mendoza Line, .167, with six home runs and 15 RBIs.
“I had a conversation with him in Miami, and he assured me that he’s still going over all of his checkpoints and working his butt off, and good things were going to start happening,” said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo after the game.
“When I’m going through those conversations and I’m watching him have success, I’m like a (proud) father. I’m just watching him go out and there and get the job done. So, hats off to him.”
With four swings of the bat, Suarez has now gone from a difficult stretch to being MLB’s leader in home runs this season. He and the Diamondbacks are next in action on Sunday for the conclusion of the three-game set.
