Suárez unable to produce clutch hit in rematch against Whitlock

CINCINNATI (AP) — Eugenio Suárez hoped to come up big again in a late-game situation against Garrett Whitlock. Instead, Whitlock won the matchup this time. Suárez came up with two outs and a runner on second in the eighth inning with the Cincinnati Reds trailing the Boston Red Sox 1-0 on Thursday. The 34-year old slugger provided arguably the biggest moment in Venezuela's sports history with an RBI double off Whitlock in the ninth in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic to beat the United States on March 17. In his first game with the Reds since 2021, Suárez couldn't provide the same heroics. Whitlock struck out Suárez on a changeup to strand Sal Stewart in scoring position. Boston got some breathing room in the ninth before beating Cincinnati 3-0. "I knew he was going to pitch me different," Suárez said. "He threw me two fastballs right there in the middle early in the count and I missed my opportunity. He got me with a good pitch at the end." Whitlock said he was able to quickly move on despite the loss in the WBC, but did get some measure of satisfaction by helping the Red Sox post their first opening day shutout since 2015. "Obviously he did a great job in the WBC and I gave up the loss there," Whitlock said of Suárez. "As a reliever, you try to move on fast. It's just one of those things, as a baseball player you're going to face guys a lot. You just have to move on fast when you're a reliever, take the tough ones when they come and don't ride the highs too high." Suárez's double into the left-field gap on a full-count changeup from Whitlock drove in pinch-runner Javier Sanoja for Venezuela's game-winning run to beat the U.S. 3-2. Suárez emotionally stood on second base with his outstretched arms pointing to the sky, a moment that is sure to be immortalized in some fashion throughout Venezuela. "Every time that I see my phone, I see videos, I see text message from my friends. It was one of the best experiences that I've had in my career," he said before the game. Suárez — who signed a one-year, $15 million contract before spring training — was with the Reds from 2015 through 2021. He hit 189 home runs during those seven seasons, including 49 in 2019. Suárez has 101 homers at Great American Ball Park and is one of five players with at least 100. The Reds' ballpark has averaged 2.67 home runs per game since it opened in 2003. That's the second-highest homer rate in the majors among ballparks to host at least 1,200 games. Even though the wind was blowing out at Great American Ball Park on Thursday, Suárez went 0 for 4 and struck out three times. "It's just the first game. We've got to put more pressure on and try to win games," he said. The Reds will honor Suárez and assistant athletic trainer Tomas Vera for being part of Venezuela's WBC team during pregame ceremonies on Sunday. Suárez will also receive the Luis Aparicio Award from Reds Hall of Fame shortstop Dave Concepción on Saturday. The award is given to the Venezuelan player in the majors with the best performance in a season. Suárez, who was with Arizona and Seattle last season, finished fifth in the majors with 49 home runs and fourth with a career-high 118 RBIs. He batted .228 overall with an .824 OPS. Suárez is hoping that the momentum from the WBC will carry over as the Reds look to make the postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2013. Cincinnati finished 83-79 last year in Terry Francona's first season as manager and earned the NL's final wild-card spot. The Reds should have a strong middle of the lineup with All-Star shortstop Elly de la Cruz batting third, Stewart at cleanup and Suárez hitting fifth. Stewart became the first Cincinnati rookie since 1958 to have a three-hit game in an opener. "I think we had a really good group," Suárez said. "We just have to believe each other and play hard every time." ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb