18 hours Ago
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Seiya Suzuki went up to the plate looking for a pitch to hit early in the count. So, when A’s starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs threw him a first-pitch fastball over the middle of the plate, he jumped all over it, launching a no-doubter onto the roof of the Sutter Health Park clubhouse building beyond the left-field fence.
In a game the Cubs would go on to win 10-2 on Wednesday, that three-run homer extended the Cubs’ lead to 4-0 in the second inning. It was Suzuki’s second three-run shot in as many days. Then in the fourth inning, he fouled off two pitches in the zone before hitting an opposite-field blast in a 2-2 count, notching his first multi-homer game of the season.
Including a seventh-inning RBI single, Suzuki drove in a career-high five runs. “I would say staying aggressive, watching [Kyle] Tucker’s at-bats, what he does,” Suzuki said of his hot streak through an interpreter Tuesday. “One of my characteristics is when I’m not going well, I’m too selective – so just keeping that approach of staying aggressive.
” Tucker and Suzuki have made quite the pairing in the No. 2 and 3 spots in the batting order so far – with Tucker batting in front of Suzuki against right-handed starting pitchers and vice versa against lefties, including Springs. As of Wednesday afternoon, Tucker’s 1.
228 OPS was No. 9 among qualified hitters. It took Suzuki a few games to get going, but on Wednesday he stretched his streak of multi-hit games to four.
“They can carry a lineup by themselves,” Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Taillon said Wednesday. “And then you have everyone else doing their job and working counts and getting on base. It’s going to be tough for pitchers.
” Suzuki and Tucker won’t always be surging at the same time. But if they manage to just avoid long slumps, they could keep the Cubs offense afloat during inevitable lulls in the season. They were missing that kind of stabilizing force last year.
“I think [leadoff hitter Ian Happ] and Kyle will be on base a bunch, that’s what they’re both really good at,” manager Craig Counsell said before the game Wednesday. “I think Seiya is going to have, and [cleanup hitter] Michael Bush should have a lot of RBI opportunities. And you’ve got to cash in at kind of a normal rate, and I think we’ll be good.
” All but one Suzuki’s four home runs this week have come with men on base. Tucker also homered on Tuesday for a career first: home runs in four straight games. “Don’t tell him this, but he’s a special player,” said closer Ryan Pressly, who played with Tucker for seven seasons in Houston before the Cubs traded for them both this offseason.
“He really is special. And watching him come up and how he swings it is really fun. I’ve had a front-row seat to it for a couple years now.
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Every time he comes up to the plate, something pretty cool could happen.” When Tucker describes his approach, it sounds simple . “I try to get pitches I think I can handle and just be aggressive with those,” Tucker said.
“I mean, if the pitchers want to throw balls or try to get me a chase, I try to lay off of them and be a little patient with those — and just try to attack the ones I think I can crush. So I just try to do that just as consistently as I can.” Easier said than done.
Counsell has marveled at Tucker’s ability to stay aggressive while also frequently drawing walks. And he was delighted to hear that Suzuki was drawing from his observations of Tucker. “That’s what other players have definitely commented on, is watching a great hitter’s approach and how it’s just a little different,” Counsell said.
“And you learn something from that, right? And it’s a confidence he has in himself, and then he executes it, and it’s fun to watch.”.
