Eugenio Suárez smashed a three-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Cincinnati Reds all their scoring in a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park on Sunday. The victory completed the Reds' first series win of the season, taking the final two games by one run each. Manager Terry Francona praised Suárez for delivering the game-changing moment the team had lacked last year.
The Reds trailed 2-0 entering the bottom of the sixth, scoreless against Boston starter Connelly Early until Matt McLain led off with a single off the right-field wall. After Early departed for Greg Weissert, Sal Stewart walked, setting the stage for Suárez. On an 0-2 fastball, Suárez connected for his first homer of the season, hit at 109.6 mph and projected 431 feet into the left-field upper deck—his 190th for the Reds franchise since 2015. Weissert lamented, “Don't throw the ball right down the middle. I just didn’t get it up. Just can’t miss there in that spot.” Francona highlighted the shift from 2025 struggles: “I think that’s a game that last year, we lose a lot of times. That’s why we got Geno.” Suárez, who signed a one-year, $15 million deal on Feb. 3, entered 1-for-11 with five strikeouts but adjusted after hard outs earlier. “Today was different. I kind of knew they’re going to attack me with a fastball and be ready for that one,” he said. Rookie Sal Stewart, batting .700 through three games, reached base all four times Sunday ahead of Suárez. Rhett Lowder allowed two earned runs in a no-decision, while closer Emilio Pagán earned the save after rebounding from Saturday. Pagán noted, “These are the types of games we are going to be in all year long if we’re going to be the team we expect to be.”