Huge homer from Eugenio Suárez leads Reds past Red Sox
A three-run blast by Geno was all the scoring the Reds needed.
CINCINNATI, OH - MARCH 26: Johnny Bench talks with Eugenio Suárez #28 of the Cincinnati Reds prior to the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeffrey Dean/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images It had been a bit of a slow start to the season for Eugenio Suárez entering play on Sunday. It’s hard to fault him for it, of course, as he’d been away on the roller coaster that was Team Venezuela’s victory in the World Baseball Classic and had far from the typical spring training warm-up.
He also was returning to the Cincinnati Reds after four seasons elsewhere, and surely was putting some added pressure on himself to perform for a base of fans that adored him so. Spotlighting it was that the players who have been hitting ahead of him in the lineup – namely Sal Stewart and Matt McLain – have been so impossible to retire that each and every time Geno stepped to the plate it seemed as if there were multiple runners in scoring position. Suárez put in a more vintage showing on Sunday in Great American Ball Park, however.
With the Reds trailing the Boston Red Sox 2-0 in the Bottom of the 6th and a pair of runners on, Geno absolutely obliterated a ball into the second deck in LF for a 3-run homer, a 431 foot blast that flipped the scoreboard completely. Thanks to Rhett Lowder holding Boston to just a pair of runs in an otherwise rock soild start and the bullpen holding firm over the final four frames, that swing was all the offense the Reds would need on the day in a 3-2 victory that earned them a series victory in their first of the year. Geno, of course, takes home Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game honors for the day, the first time I’ve been able to dote the award on him in some five years.
Hat tips are in order for Sal Stewart, too, who was on base another four times in a masterful outing that’s becoming the norm for the rookie. He doubled, singled, walked twice, and even tagged up on a deep fly ball to CF off the bat by Geno that was nearly another homer. The vibes on this team right now – they are quite good.