Suzuki answers all-star snub with first-inning homer as Cubs stop Boston streak
Fresh off an all-star snub and rejected Home Run Derby invitation, Seiya Suzuki was rested and ready to go when the second half began Friday at Wrigley Field.
Suzuki's 3-run, first-inning home run on the first pitch he saw from former White Sox ace Lucas Giolito was literally the difference in the Cubs' 4-1 victory over Boston.
This result snapped the Red Sox' 10-game win streak. After finishing the first half with two victories over the Yankees, the Cubs (58-39) moved to a season-high 19 games above .500.
Despite leading the National League in RBI, Suzuki was not chosen for the All-Star Game but made the most of his four-game break.
“I was asleep the whole time, so I didn't watch (the All-Star Game) once,” Suzuki said through translator Edwin Stanberry. “I was able to get a lot of rest. That was the first time in the first half where I didn't have any major injuries. There was a little bit of fatigue built up, so I was able to take some time off and rest my body.”
Pete Crow-Armstrong did go to the All-Star Game and said the experience was surreal. He wished Suzuki had been there but applauded his teammate's effective use of the break.
“Seiya got a lot of good family time in,” Crow-Armstrong joked. “So I'm glad he got his sleep. I just want a rested Seiya every day, you know? That's a good Seiya, the best Seiya.”
Suzuki said he was invited to compete in the Home Run Derby but declined.
“There was an invitation, but even if I did go, I can't win. So I said no,” he explained.
Cal Raleigh was tough, but why couldn't Suzuki have won?
“Look at my body,” Suzuki said. “Edwin might have been able to (win).”
For the record, Stanberry is nearly identical in size to the 6-foot, 182-pound Suzuki, and Stanberry never hit a home run playing college baseball at Hawaii-Hilo.
The Cubs set the table for Suzuki when Michael Busch and Kyle Tucker each worked walks during long at-bats against Giolito. Then Suzuki stepped up and hit the first pitch he saw on a line to the front row of left-center bleachers to make it 3-0.
“I hate extra days of rest,” Giolito said. “I've got to be better than that. I came out of the gate not locked in enough, out of sync mechanically.”
The wind blowing in made Suzuki’s home run more impressive. On a calm day, Ian Happ would have certainly had a homer, and Dansby Swanson might have had two.
The rest of the game was the Cubs making nice defensive plays to keep Boston off the scoreboard. A key moment came in the fifth inning when the first two Red Sox batters reached on a hit and walk. Alex Bregman followed with a line drive to center field. The runner on second, Abraham Toro, got a bad read and strayed too far down the basepath. Crow-Armstrong made the catch look routine and fired to second base for an inning-killing double play.
“I didn't try and deke or anything,” Crow-Armstrong said. “That was just catch and throw.”
Cubs pitcher Colin Rea (8-3) dealt with some traffic, issuing 4 hits and 4 walks, but he allowed just 1 run in 5 innings.
“It was a little bend don't break today,” manager Craig Counsell said. “The walks were not a normal thing for him. But made some big pitches when he had to.”
Matt Shaw snapped an 0-for-25 drought with a fifth-inning single.