Cincinnati Reds: Eugenio Suárez and Pete Alonso to meet as Mets visit

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 30: Amed Rosario #1 of the New York Mets picks off Phillip Ervin #6 of the Cincinnati Reds as he tries to steal in the second inning at Citi Field on April 30, 2019 in Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Following a successful 5-4 road trip the Cincinnati Reds return home for their final homestand of the year with the MLB home run crown on the line.

While third baseman Eugenio Suárez has been receiving most of the headlines, and rightfully so, he’s not the only member of the team playing long ball this season. Entering play Friday, the Cincinnati Reds (72-81) 218 homers on the season rank fourth in team history and they’re only five homers away from breaking the all-time club record of 222 set by the 2005 Reds team.

Led by Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr., the 2005 edition of the Cincinnati Reds had nine players who hit at least 13 home runs. Fast forward to 2019, and the Redlegs have eight players who have gone deep at least 11 times and have at least three other players within striking distance of reaching double figures.

How did the Reds arrive to the brink of setting the club record? For starters, Eugenio Suárez has set a career-high with 48 bombs this season. However, he’s not the only one to establish a career-best. Derek Dietrich, Jesse Winker and José Iglesias have also turned in career-topping performances in the long ball department.

But it’s not just the veterans dialing long distance. Rookies Aristides Aquino, Nick Senzel and Josh Van Meter have combined to connect for 36 home runs. In addition, second-year players Kyle Farmer and Phillip Ervin have provided 15 souvenirs for those sitting in the bleachers.

Don’t be surprised to see the Reds set the franchise record before the Mets leave town on Sunday evening. The Redlegs have blasted a 113 long balls in 75 games at Great American Ball Park this season. As a team, Cincinnati’s 101 homers in the second half trails only the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs in the National League.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 12: Juan Lagares #12 of the New York Mets celebrates his third inning grand slam home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks with teammates Amed Rosario #1 and Robinson Cano #24 and manager Mickey Callaway #36 at Citi Field on September 12, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Mets hoping for another miracle

Entering their final 10 games of the 2019 season, the Mets (79-73) postseason hopes are on life support. Trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by 3.5 games for the second and final Wild Card spot, a lot will have to go right for New York to play October baseball. While hope remains, it won’t be easy for the Mets.

Playing away from Citi Field has been a struggle for the Metropolitans. Sporting just a 36-42 road mark, the Mets will play their final road series of the year in the Queen City where they’ve had success in recent years. Since 2013 the Mets are an impressive 13-6 at GABP.

The past several seasons, the Mets have relied heavily upon the dominant pitching of Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Even though the Big Apple duo has done much of the heavy lifting in 2019, the New York pitching staff as a whole is an above-average unit.

Posting a team ERA of 4.33, the Mets are third among NL pitching staffs with 1,415 punch outs. By the way, the Reds pitchers lead the league with 1,469 strikeouts. Not only do the Mets throw strikes, but they’re stingy with free passes. Their 475 base on balls are also the third fewest among those on the senior circuit.

Meanwhile, New York hitters have already set a franchise record with 225 home runs this season. Rookie first baseman Pete Alonso leads the majors with 49 homers. The Mets rank in the top five in the NL with team .329 OBP. However, the New Yorkers are prone to the twin killing. They’ve hit into 126 double plays which is second most in the National League.

CINCINNATI, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 07: Luis Castillo #58 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the third inning at Great American Ball Park on September 07, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /

Previewing the pitching matchups

While Eugenio Suárez and Pete Alonso will garner most of the attention this weekend, don’t sleep on the pitching matchup Friday night. Luis Castillo (15-6 3.22 ERA) faces 2018 NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom (9-8 2.61 ERA) of the Mets. This has the potential of being one of the best pitching duels of the season.

La Piedra currently ranks within the top 10 in the NL in wins, strikeouts and ERA. He’ll be making his second start against the Mets this season. Castillo fanned seven in 6.2 innings allowing five hits and two runs against the Mets earlier this season. Pitching at home has been to Castillo’s liking with a 2.85 ERA while limiting opponents to a .192/.259/.299 slash line.

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Even though deGrom probably won’t win the Cy Young Award this year, he will once again be in the discussion. deGrom leads the NL in strikeouts and WHIP, while ranking third in ERA and fifth in innings pitched. Lifetime, deGrom is 2-1 with a 1.74 ERA in five starts against the Cincinnati Reds. Tossing 31 innings he’s fanned 40 Redlegs and surrendered only one home run.

Anthony DeSclafani (9-9 3.93 ERA) opposes New York’s Zack Wheeler (11-7 4.09 ERA) Saturday afternoon. Disco has been closing the 2019 campaign on a high note. Over three starts, he’s tossed 20 innings and allowed just seven hits, while holding opponents to a .104 batting average.

DeSclafani has struggled in his career against the Mets. Throwing 22.2 innings he’s allowed 30 hits and compiled a 6.75 ERA in addition to dropping all three decisions. Let’s hope Disco keeps the September music rolling and captures his first win against the Mets.

Wheeler has been a workhorse for the Mets this year. Tossing 180.1 innings, he ranks eighth among all NL hurlers. Like DeSclafani, Wheeler has been at his best in September. Fanning 19 in as many innings, he’s produced an impressive 1.42 ERA. The 29-year-old right-hander has dominated the Reds in two starts at GABP. He’s allowed just two runs in 12 innings with 13 strikeouts.

Sunday’s series finale has Trevor Bauer (11-12 4.41 ERA) battling the Mets Steven Matz (10-9 4.16 ERA). Bauer is coming off an excellent outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Going eight innings, the right-hander allowed just one run on four hits while racking up eight strikeouts. The punchouts are nothing new. Bauer’s 245 K’s rank third among all MLB pitchers.

Bauer will be making his first career start against the Mets, however, there is one Met he and Reds Country are quite familiar with. Former Reds star Todd Frazier is 7-for-22 lifetime against Bauer with a homer, a double and 3 RBIs. I’m sure the Toddfather would like nothing more than to jog around the bases at GABP this weekend.

Southpaw Steven Matz has not enjoyed pitching outside of Gotham City. The 28-year-old New York native has compiled a frightening 6.62 ERA and 1.58 WHIP away from Citi Field. His only carer start at GABP was an interesting outing. Even though he fanned eight in 5.2 innings, Matz also allowed three runs and a whopping 10 hits.

DENVER, COLORADO – SEPTEMBER 18: Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets hits a solo home run in the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 18, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

A debut season to remember

What more can you say about Mets rookie first baseman Pete Alonso? He leads the majors with 49 home runs. His 113 RBIs and .590 slugging rate rank fifth in the National League. For good measure, Alonso also places seventh with a .956 OPS and his 66 free passes is good enough for ninth in the senior circuit. Whew.

However, the accolades don’t end there. His 49 round trippers are a NL rookie record and he’s tied Mark McGwire for second on the all-time list for home runs by a rookie. Entering play Friday, Alonso is just three behind Aaron Judge‘s record of 52 established during the 2017 season. In addition, Alonso’s 49 homers are a Mets single season record.

Alonso is also closing in on other Mets records as well. His 328 total bases on the season are just six behind David Wright‘s club record set in 2008. One more extra base hit will break a three-way tie with Carlos Beltran and Howard Johnson for the most in team history.

Pete Alonso also has an outside shot of setting the Mets RBI record. Sitting at 113 RBIs, Alonso is 11 behind the single season mark held by both David Wright and Mike Piazza. What a year this rookie is having, huh?

Shortly after the season, Alonso will join an elite group of players in Mets history. The 24-year-old slugger will be the runaway winner for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. He will become the first Mets position player to win the award since Darryl Strawberry in 1983. He will join Strawberry, Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack, Dwight Gooden and Jacob deGrom as Mets NL Rookie of the Year recipients. Elite class indeed.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – SEPTEMBER 15: Eugenio Suarez #7 of the Cincinnati Reds reacts after hitting a solo home run off of Zac Gallen #59 of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning at Chase Field on September 15, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

It’s been a record breaking campaign for Geno

Reds Country is running out of adjectives to describe the season of third baseman Eugenio Suárez. With his 48th homer Wednesday night, Geno set the single season record for most homers by a Venezuelan born player. That round tripper also tied the mark for the most by a National League third baseman. Suárez also set a franchise record by blasting 28 home runs after the All-Star break.

The exciting news is that Suárez may not be done adding his name to the records books. His 48 homers in a single season are good for third place in Reds history. Ted Kluszewski sits in second place with 49 round trippers. For the first time since establishing the franchise high mark of 52 during the 1977 season, George Foster‘s place atop the record books is in jeopardy.

If Eugenio Suárez can connect for one more homer, he’ll tie Big Klu on the Reds list, but even more impressive, he’ll pass perhaps the greatest third baseman in baseball history, Mike Schmidt, for most dingers in a season for a NL third baseman. Any time your name is being mentioned in the same breath as George Foster and Mike Schmidt you’ve had a very special season.

Prediction

The New York Mets represent the third Wild Card contender in a row the Cincinnati Reds will face. If you’re a Mets fan, you hope things go better for your club than the Diamondbacks and Cubs. Cincinnati took 2-of-3 from both Arizona and Chicago this past week.

Next. Reds top 5 Triple-A performers this season

I hate to break it to you Mets fans, but look for the Reds to take a bite out of the Big Apple playoff hopes and capture 2-of-3 from the Metropolitans. After this series, the Cincinnati Reds will close out the 2019 season at home against another team in the Wild Card hunt, the Milwaukee Brewers.

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