By Hal McCoy
It was old-time Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Gomez who first said, “I’d rather be lucky than good.”
And Eugenio Suarez said he was lucky Friday night when he hit a game-winning home run, but Suarez also has been good — very, very, very good.
Suarez evaporated the baseball, a monstrous 435-foot home run in the seventh inning that turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead as the Cincinnati Reds stopped the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2.
And how good has Suarez been? It was his sixth home run in his last 12 games.
The Reds trailed 2-1 after six innings against St. Louis starter Dustin May, but Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol lifted him although he had thrown only 89 pitches and had struck out eight.
Marmol brought in George Soriano and he gave up a one-out single to Sal Stewart. JJ Bleday struck out on three straight change-ups for the second out.
Soriano threw a 1-and-0 88 miles an hour slider to Suarez and he nearly knocked down the Gateway Arch with his 14th homer.
And all Suarez was trying to do was hit a single.
“I was lucky with that one,” he said. “I didn’t take a big swing, I’m not trying to hit a home run. I was so ready after he threw me a fastball up and in.
“I knew I’d get something over the heart of the plate and I was ready for that one and was just trying to put that ball in play and see what happen after that,” he added.
“I’m lucky I got that big home run right there because it was good for me and good for my team,” he said.
It was really good for his team because the Reds have won five of seven coming out of the All-Star break and it was a rare win against the Cardinals and a rare win against a National League Central team.
Before the game, the Reds were 1-5 against St. Louis and were swept three games on their last visit to Busch Stadium III.
And they were 6-22 against NL Central teams.
“Geno’s home run was like Sal Stewart’s the other day. . .you’re losing, you’re losing and you’re losing and all of a sudden everything changes,” said Reds manager Tito Francona.
“That’s why we got Geno and that was good to see,” he added. “That was obviously a big swing for us. When we’re losing, then we’re winning it definitely changes the mood.”
It was a weird game.
Reds starter Rhett Lowder pulled a 180° on this start. His previous start in Colorado he gave up eight runs and 11 hits in 2 1/3 innings.
On this night he gave up one hit.
He took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, but he hit Ivan Herrerra (the 25th time Herrera has been hit by a pitch this season) to open the fifth. He retired the next two but walked Nathan Church, who was 3 for his last 41.
With two outs, he put Blaze Jordan in a 1-and-2 hole, but Jordan then doubled off the left center wall, the Cardinals first hit and it scored both runners for a 2-1 St. Louis lead.
And Lowder left after five innings having given up two runs on the one hit with two walks, a hit batter and four strikeouts.
“I thought his stuff looked great and it was crisp. You could tell his was kinda on a mission,” said Francona, referring to Lowder’s awful night in Colorado.
The bullpen was immaculate — four innings by five pitchers and they gave up no runs, one hit and one walk.
“Really good pitching tonight and it was a shame because Lowder really pitched his rear end off,” said Francona. “He gave up that one hit and really pitched well.
“And Julian Garcia got us a big out,” he said.
The Cardinals led, 2-1, in the sixth and had a runner on third with two outs when Francona brought in Garcia, a rookie. He struck out Ivan Herrera to thwart the threat.
“Then Blake Burke and Emilio Pagan both threw the ball as well as I’ve seen them,” said Francona.
Burke, making his 52nd appearnce, pitched a 1-2-3 seventh.
Closer Pagan pitched a perfect ninth for the third straight game, nine up and nine down for his third save in three games.
“I feel like myself again,” said Pagan. “It’s very welcome for me individually and the impact I can have on the team. It’s nice to have me contribute in a positive way.
“As far as our stuff goes, our pitchers can compete with anybody,” he added. “This is why I’ve been adamant that we have a good team in here.”
With the trade deadline looming (August 11), Pagan said, “Hopefully this will put us in a spot where guys aren’t leaving and maybe we can add some guys and go on a run.
“We know what we’re capable of and maybe we can string together a lot of wins in a row. We put ourselves behind the eight ball and that’s on us, but we still have a chance to do something special and re-write the script.”