PHOENIX — After a couple of shaky starts early in his career, Andrew Suarez promised to dig deep into the laptop. He made some adjustments and responded by allowing eight total runs over a six-start span.
The rookie left-hander allowed eight runs in just five innings Saturday night in a 9-3 loss to Arizona. It’s back to the laptop.
“My mechanics are just a little bit off,” Suarez said. “I’ll go watch film tomorrow and get ready for the next start.”
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Whatever is causing Suarez to speed up his delivery and leave so many pitches over the heart of the plate didn’t start Saturday. He has allowed 19 runs over his past four starts, failing to pitch six innings in three of them. The Diamondbacks jumped on him early, getting five in the first — just as they did against Chris Stratton — and then three more in the fifth. Ketel Marte and Nick Ahmed hit homers.
Suarez said he feels fine physically, and there’s no reason why he should be gassed. He has thrown 129 innings in the majors and minors this season, less than in each of the previous two seasons. He should have plenty left in the tank.
“We gave him an extra day (of rest). We’re keeping an eye on him, but you look at the velo and for three innings (tonight) I thought he had really good stuff,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “You know what, this is a young kid. He’s going to have runs where he might not be as sharp. This is part of the growing process.”
--- Buster Posey passed a pre-game concussion test and could start at first base on Sunday, Bochy said. This is all good news, but it also led to a strange situation. Ron Freeman was brought in as a taxi squad catcher but wasn’t needed. Freeman, who has never played in the big leagues, was in the clubhouse afterward, apparently waiting for a return trip to Triple-A. The postgame spread looked good, at least.
San Francisco Giants
It has to be brutal to get that close to a big-league field after so many years in the minors, and then not actually get onto the roster, but there still could be a happy ending here. The Giants will need a third catcher in September, and team officials chose Freeman over Trevor Brown on Saturday. Ryan Hanigan parted ways with the organization last month. Unless Aramis Garcia gets a bump from Double-A, it appears Freeman will make his big-league debut next month.
--- Pierce Johnson and Derek Law, called up earlier in the day, both got into the game. Johnson pitched two scoreless innings, getting a little help from Steven Duggar in center field. Law wasn’t as successful; Nick Ahmed greeted him with a solo homer.