“Vengeance is Mine,” says Eugenio, as Reds Take Series in Pittsburgh
by William Meiners
Late June and the Reds are coming off a home sweep (courtesy of the Brewers), looking for some revenge over a Central foe. The series victory in Pittsburgh, finally, came dramatically with a ninth inning, two-out, three-run homer off the bat of what I’d say is the best name in baseball.
I was happy to learn of Eugenio Suárez’s offseason return to Cincy. If only to hear my favorite color commentator (Jeff Brantley) announce his arrival to the plate. A dozen years ago, I wonder if the Cowboy perfected it through his own spring training, carefully sounding out each syllable of Eu-gen-io Sua-rez in a southern, melodic baritone.
A big bat with plenty of holes for strikeouts, Gino moved from short to third in his first stint with the Reds. In 2026, balancing some time with Ke’Bryan Hayes, a Gold Glove cornerman without much bat, the veteran would see some DH action.
Like many strange stats associated with this team, Suárez has provided that occasional pop — often longballs in bunches — but contributed to one of the highest strikeout percentages for a team in the big leagues. So in a perfect Reds’ world, you’d see more singles, doubles, and sac flies in his stats.
On Friday night, Andrew Abbott served up a leadoff home run to Connor Griffin. Reds responded with four in the second off Paul Skeines. All without a homer… four straight hits, bloops, walks, and a couple of sacrifice flies.
Skeines settled down, shutting down the Reds through the remainder of his start, a quality one is you discounted the second. Pirates crawled back to tie with the help of two solo homers, getting their best pitcher off the hook for a loss. But the mercurial Noelvi Marte, athletic and strong but a weak fielder and inconsistent hitter, launched a two-run homer in the eighth inning for the 6-4 win.
On a gloomy Saturday afternoon in a back-and-forth affair, Reds led early, fell behind briefly with their ace Chase Burns on the mound, but regained the lead. Buckos battled back against the bullpen, ultimately taking a 7-6 lead late. Enter Eugenio with the late-inning theatrics.
Backtrack to a a bittersweet St. Patrick’s Day. That’s when Suárez’s ninth-inning double proved the game winner for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. In his typical (but amplified) celebration, he looked toward the heavens, shouting with two fisted hands. Not knowing any better, you might liken him to Noah yelling at God… “What’s with all the rain!”
But I’m happy for Gino, even when his team beats the U.S.A. Maybe we should have kidnapped the manager and his wife, stolen their oil. I’m happier for him when he makes the Reds victorious. Down to his last strike, he launched the three-bomb to right field in rain that could make Noah blush. God bless you, Eugenio Suárez. You make my heart sing. If only for this one Saturday evening.
Looking for their own sweep, Reds got a Sunday spanking from the Pirates, 9-4.
William Meiners is the editor of Sport Literate. Among his summer 2026 plans are the documentation of 33 Reds’ series. That should be about 500 words every few days. If you don’t expect too much breakdown or analysis, outside of his own troubled head, you may not be disappointed. From losing streaks through high-water marks, he’ll follow the club, sometimes literally, from the reluctant spring of early May through the dog days of August. Then he’s off to something else.