The hardest pitch Albert Suárez threw on Sunday was his last, because of course it was.
The 34-year-old blew a 97 mph four-seam fastball past Connor Wong’s bat, Suárez’s third K of the sixth inning and sixth overall in a 4-2 Orioles victory.
Suárez has a knack for saving his best later than you might expect.
We’re rounding into the last quarter of the regular season and less than two months from Suárez’s 35th birthday. Taking over Grayson Rodriguez’s spot in the rotation, Suárez is suddenly the Orioles’ best-performing starter, scoreless in his last three starts.
He’s been a surprise to everyone this season after the Orioles signed him for a song in the offseason — his most recent pro experience was in Korean baseball, and his most recent MLB action was in 2017. But Suárez himself doesn’t seem to be surprised, which might be his edge.
“It seems like he just comes out with a convicted plan every single time,” catcher Adley Rutschman said. “I think that he trusts that his stuff is good and everyone else around him believes it and he does, and he’s doing great.”
Here’s a fun exercise: Pick a more unlikely late bloomer in Orioles history than Suárez. One that comes to mind is Koji Uehara, who arrived in Baltimore in his age-34 season and was a useful piece out of the bullpen for a few years.
Given his starting role for a team battling at the top of the American League, Suárez (3.18 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) seems to blow that precedent out of the water. But he’s not thinking about the past or the future — being present may be Suárez’s mental edge.
“I don’t expect results,” he said. “I always think about executing and, for me, executing every pitch and to get ready.”
The 30-somethings out there should take heart. Eight years after his MLB debut, Suárez is setting career superlatives when most careers reach twilight. He never had a scoreless streak of more than 12 innings in his first two MLB seasons, but this season he’s had three and now hasn’t allowed a run in 17 2/3 straight. His seven scoreless starts of at least five innings are tied for the best in the majors, with 25-year-olds Hunter Greene and Bryce Miller.
Suárez wasn’t overpowering in Sunday’s start, even though his velocity is the best it has been in his career. He had to work around seven Boston hits and plenty of baserunners. But he also didn’t give up a walk, and he didn’t crack in spite of runners in scoring position.
From the game’s first play, Suárez was unflappable, catching a Jarren Duran liner back to the mound. Manager Brandon Hyde sees how that poise holds steady when Suárez gets into tough situations
“I just think he bears down really, really well, and there’s not a whole lot of panic out there, either,” Hyde said. “He’s really, really under control, and the game doesn’t speed up on him.”
Suárez started the year well, but a few rough appearances in June and July signaled his best spot would be in the bullpen. Continuing injuries have forced him back into a starting role, but Suárez said off-field work and weight training are helping him strengthen his performances as the year goes on.
In the course of a game, Hyde noted, Suárez’s fastball (which The Banner’s Jon Meoli wrote about this year) gets stronger. Its shape gets harder to hit, and he pinpoints it better. That, combined with more confidence in his changeup, makes Suárez tough to hit. He got 16 whiffs on Sunday against a Red Sox team that can bash.
Suárez also has a deliberate pace — one that did get him a pitch clock violation in his start — but nothing ever seems to speed him up.
That might be exactly what the Orioles need at this juncture. His last three starts have come against division opponents, games Baltimore needs to win, but Suárez doesn’t gauge games as bigger than one another. He tries to keep it consistent every time.
He’s also shown his stamina. After pitching a career-high 6 2/3 innings Aug. 11, Suárez followed with a season-high 99 pitches Sunday.
Given the way he’s trending, maybe somehow the best is yet to come.
“Every time I’m out there and being able to help the team, I give everything I got,” he said. “To me, it’s a positive thing. And getting positive results is even better.”
