WASHINGTON – If we thought Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki’s improbable power-hitting surge in 2017 was just a half-season thing, it might be time to reconsider.
The 34-year-old hit two home runs Wednesday, breaking ties with each of them in the fourth and 11th innings of a game the Braves won 5-3 in 12 innings. They were the first two homers of the season in 22 at-bats for Suzuki, who missed five games after getting hit in the hand by a pitch.
“I feel good. These four games since I came back from getting hit in the hand, I’ve been trying to get my timing back and I feel better and better every day,” said Suzuki, who returned to the lineup last week Friday at Colorado and has caught four of the first six games on a nine-game trip including three wins. “Hopefully as it gets warmer it starts to get a little easier, too.
“I just keep working with Seitz (hitting coach Kevin Seitzer), kind of keeping things simple, what we were building on last year, just keep going.”
Suzuki hit a career-high 19 home runs in just 276 plate appearances last season, including 15 home runs in 163 at-bats after July 1. The 12-year veteran has six two-homer games in his career and four of them have come with the Braves since the beginning of July.
After Ozzie Albies homered in the first inning, Suzuki homered with two out in the fourth off Nationals starters A.J. Cole for a 2-1 Braves lead.
The Nationals had a chance to tie in the seventh, but late-innings defensive replacement Peter Bourjos made a strong throw from left field to throw out former Brave Matt Adams trying to score from second on Wilmer Difo’s single.
Adams did tie the score himself in the ninth with a homer off Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino.
After the Braves’ Ender Inciarte was thrown out trying to steal home with Suzuki batting to end the 10th inning, Suzuki started the 11th inning by homering off reliever Sean Kelley, who had just entered and gave up a homer to almost the exact same spot down the left-field line as Suzuki’s first homer, near the 336 (feet) sign.
“I go for the shortest distance,” Suzuki said, smiling. “So I don’t have to hit it as far.”
The Nationals tied the score again in the 11th before Bourjos hit a bases-loaded two-run single in the 12th for the final margin.
“Two good teams playing good baseball,” Suzuki said. “We extended the game a few innings more than we wanted to, but it was a good game overall.”
