San Diego Padres: Robert Suarez has been an unsung hero

Robert Suarez has been an unsung hero for the San Diego Padres on their way to an NLCS berth.

A 31-year-old rookie, Robert Suarez has a unique story. After his postseason performance in the first two rounds of the 2022 postseason, the San Diego Padres reliever is now finally getting the attention he deserves.

Heading into Tuesday’s NLCS opener, Suarez has become a flawless setup man to Josh Hader. Hitters have been off-balance with his sinking movement that has been clocked as high as 101 mph. Suarez has been invaluable, sometimes going multiple innings at a time, including throwing a pair of innings in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

So far this postseason, he has pitched six scoreless innings this postseason and has struck out five batters. During this stretch, he’s only allowed four base runners with three hits and one walk. The New York Mets and Dodgers were helpless against him, recording a hold in every win against the Dodgers in the NLDS.

When the San Diego Padres took the lead in that dramatic Game 4 comeback, Suarez came in and shut the Dodgers down with a clean inning. Without Suarez, the bridge to Josh Hader would be much less smooth.

The combination of Suarez and Hader is downright scary. This could realistically shorten the game to six or seven innings for the opponent if the Padres have the lead.

Suarez has flown under the radar all season long. At Petco Park, he has an ERA of 0.00 in 24.0 regular-season innings spanning 21 games, plus a pair of scoreless frames in the postseason. In all, he hasn’t allowed a run in 26 innings inside his home park, striking out 36 batters during that perfect stretch while allowing just 17 base runners. That stat speaks for itself.

His regular season numbers were impressive with 61 strikeouts in 47 innings and a 2.27 ERA.

Suarez went through a lot of ups and downs to make it to the MLB mound. The Venezuelan native started playing baseball in his home country. When he was 24, he played in Mexico in 2015. This is where the Padres first noticed him., but he wasn’t ready to sign at that point. Suarez felt he had to develop more to face MLB batters. This brought him to the NBP in Japan. After impressing there for a few years, Suarez decided to make the jump to the Padres before the lockout. Suarez signed for two years for $11 million. At this rate, that looks like a steal for the Padres.

The Padres will open the NLCS at home against the Phillies, who will have their hands full with Suarez, who throws a cutter, changeup and curveball. If Suarez keeps pitching this well, he might just pitch the Padres to the World Series.