PHOENIX — Eugenio Suárez, the Arizona Diamondbacks slugger, has had an all-or-nothing season.
His performance Saturday night falls squarely into the “all” category.
Suárez became the 19th player in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a single game, doing so in an 8-7 loss to the Atlanta Braves over 10 innings. The third baseman is the first player in the majors to do so since J.D. Martinez, also of the D-backs, in 2017.
“What can I say – obviously it’s awesome,” Suárez said. “I never thought in my life that I would be able to hit four homers in a game.”
Suárez entered the game batting.167, with six home runs and 15 RBIs. After Saturday, he had 19 hits on the season, including 10 home runs.
Suárez, 33, finished with five RBIs after hitting a solo shot in the second, a two-run homer in the fourth, and two more solo homers in the sixth and ninth innings. His fourth home run off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias tied the game at 7, and the Chase Field crowd of more than 43,000 roared in disbelief.
Torey Lovullo, the D-backs manager, admitted he couldn’t believe Suárez had done it again.
“I thought there was no way he would go deep. “When will that happen?” Lovullo said. “It’s like a fairytale. When it happened, I just shook my head. I could not believe it. He turned around a decent pitch… It is one of those magical nights. “It’s difficult to describe.”
The four baseballs traveled a total of 1,655 feet, with the longest being a 443-foot shot to center for his third homer. Grant Holmes accounted for the first three home runs.
The Braves won in the tenth inning after Matt Olson scored on a wild pitch.
“Mixed feelings right now because we didn’t win the game,” Suarez told the crowd. “But this is baseball, which is why this game is so memorable. I just want to glorify God for today’s game. It is a gift, and I do not take it for granted.”
The Venezuelan-born veteran has 286 home runs in a 12-year career with the Reds, Mariners, and Diamondbacks.
