DENVER (AP) — Eugenio Suárez homered in consecutive innings to become the third Venezuelan-born player to reach 300 on Friday night in the Arizona Diamondbacks' 14-8 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Suárez hit a 405-foot shot to left-center field off Austin Gomber to it in the fifth, then connected off reliever Ryan Rolison in the sixth, a 398-foot shot to left that made it 11-7.
The 33-year-old third baseman trails only Miguel Cabrera (511) and Andrés Galarraga (399) among Venezuelan-born players.
“It means a lot. I never thought this guy from Venezuela would put my name on that list,” Suárez said. “It's very special, it's very good. It feels like a dream come true.”
His teammates congratulated him in the dugout after his second home run of the night, and he was again celebrated in the clubhouse after the game.
“We honored a great baseball player, but an even better human being,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “It was a special moment. His teammates mean a lot to him. His accomplishments obviously speak for themselves — 300 home runs is unbelievable. He said he never dreamed it would happen, but he's glad that it did.”
Suárez tops Arizona with 24 homers and took the major league RBI lead with 65. He has nine home runs in June and six in his last eight games. He has at least 21 home runs in each of the last nine full seasons, hitting a career-high 49 with Cincinnati in 2019.
He has hit 50 homers since the end of May 2024, his first season with the Diamondbacks.
“The beginning of last year was tough for me,” he said. “A lot of people think that was it for me because I started the season so slow, not hitting for power. It feels great.”
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