For Suárez, it's simply 'keep swinging'

When Reds third baseman Eugenio Suárez connected on Brewers starter Brett Anderson’s 1-0 pitch on Saturday, there was no doubt where it was headed. Suárez crushed it to left field for a three-run home run and a 3-0 lead as Cincinnati went on to a 4-1 victory.

According to Statcast, Suárez hit the long ball 427 feet with an exit velocity of 110.1 mph.

“I think that was my best swing right now,” Suárez said on Sunday morning. “I’ve just been working -- not on my swing, because I still have my swing. I’ve been working on trying to swing at balls that are strikes and put my best swing on it.”

Suárez slugged 49 homers in 2019, but he has been off to a slow start to the 2020 season. It began with a 0-for-16 slump, but he’s started getting some hits in the past week, including two home runs.

If Suárez didn’t adjust his swing, what has changed lately?

“I just try to be Geno Suárez, to be me, to be myself, and not try to do too much,” he said. “Because when you are struggling, that’s when you try to do a lot of different things. … I tell myself, ‘Hey, Suárez. Don’t try too much. Just see the ball, hit the ball hard. See the ball every time and hit the ball hard and see what happens.’ The results come after you put a good swing on it. I’ve been thinking about results, and I haven’t been thinking about doing [my] job and hitting the ball hard.”

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The Reds have been among the bottom tier of clubs in batting average on balls in play this season; according to Fangraphs, they are ranked 27th with a .283 BABIP. But they’re among the top -- sixth (.342) according to Statcast -- in expected-weighted on-base average (xwOBA), which is an indicator of the quality of contact.

In other words, many Reds hitters have been unlucky. That started to turn with Friday’s 8-1 victory over Milwaukee.

“Really, the message for our team coming into the series from our hitting coach was keep swinging,” manager David Bell said. “When you’re hitting the ball hard and you’re not getting hits, sometimes as players we have to be reminded that’s really the great challenge of this game. Sometimes, you’re not hitting the ball hard and you’re not having good at-bats. That’s a different story. In our case, it’s a little bit of both. We were hitting the ball hard, so I think it’s really important to keep that in perspective, be reminded of, ‘Hey, keep swinging it, stay with it, it will turn.’ It’s nice when you deliver a message like that and it actually happens.”

Save No. 100 for Iglesias
When Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to conclude Saturday's win over the Brewers, it was the Reds closer’s 100th career save. Iglesias became the full-time closer for the club in 2017.

“What can I say? I’m grateful,” Iglesias said via translator Jorge Merlos. “I’m grateful to have this team. I’m grateful for this family. I’m grateful for my health. I’m grateful to be with this club and everything with it.”

After a rough couple of outings to begin 2020, Iglesias retired all 10 of his previous batters faced with six strikeouts.

Keeping sharp at Prasco
Reliever Joel Kuhnel, who was recalled from the alternate training site on Saturday, has been pitching at the Prasco Park facility since Opening Day. Unable to refine his pitches against other clubs in Minor League games, Kuhnel and the others have kept sharp in simulated intrasquad games.

“You’re still getting your work in -- even though it’s the same hitter over and over again,” Kuhnel said. “It does get redundant at the same time, too. You’re still trying to make your pitch, but you’re still trying to work on the stuff that you need to work. It’s good, because there are times when you get up here, especially in league play. I mean you’re going to be facing guys you know five, six, seven times in the span -- possibly in the span of two weeks. You’d be facing a guy a lot.”

The Prasco camp is set up to simulate the daily routine of game days, beginning with arrival times, meetings, drills, batting practice and more. The games range from 2-6 innings, with coaches often playing the field to fill out the defense.

Injured pitcher Matt Bowman found a way to make the games more like the real thing.

“Bowman actually got on the PA system,” Kuhnel explained. “Prasco has a really nice set-up with all the things that they have. He got on the PA system, so we have like walkout songs now. He introduces the batter’s coming up. He’s playing all the music. He’s playing boos. He’s cheering. It gets pretty exciting, so now it’s actually really like we’re trying to bring that fun energy back into Prasco.”