CHICAGO -- Entering the All-Star break tied for the second-most RBIs (77), the fourth-most home runs (25) and the 11th-highest wRC+ (138) in the National League, Seiya Suzuki had a strong All-Star case.
He ultimately wasn’t selected for his first Midsummer Classic, but no matter -- Suzuki picked up right where he left off to start the second half in the Cubs’ 4-1 win over the Red Sox at Wrigley Field on Friday.
After Michael Busch and Kyle Tucker reached base on walks in the bottom of the first, Suzuki attacked the first pitch he saw from Boston starter Lucas Giolito. Suzuki turned on the 93.5 mph four-seamer above the zone, sending it over the left-center wall for a three-run blast. That gave him his 26th homer and 80th RBI of the year and helped boost his wRC+ to 141.
That proved to be enough scoring for Chicago, as Colin Rea and five Cubs relievers held the Red Sox to just a third-inning run en route to the second-half-opening ‘W,' ending Boston's 10-game winning streak.
Busch saw six pitches on his walk to start the frame, with Tucker seeing eight. That helped Suzuki get enough of a look at Giolito to feel comfortable going with an aggressive approach, something he has looked to do more of this season.
“[Giolito] has good command, and that inning, I was able to see a lot of pitches because of the first two at-bats,” Suzuki said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “High pitch count, tough situation for him, and because I was able to do that, I was thinking about, 'OK, if the opportunity is there, stay aggressive on that first pitch.'”
That mindset led to the kind of successful plate appearance Friday that Suzuki put together plenty of times prior to the All-Star break.
His home run and RBI totals were both already career highs with 66 more games to play entering Friday. His batting average and on-base percentage were down compared to 2024, but he had also increased his isolated power and slugging percentage to a level far beyond what he’d previously produced in the Majors.
His big swing to set the tone Friday, then, was just a continuation of the production he’s provided in the heart of Chicago’s order all season.
“He's obviously picked up right where he left off,” Pete Crow-Armstrong said. “I hope he approaches the second half for himself as just an opportunity to show everybody what could've happened to him for the All-Star break. … Seiya has been doing it for us, and he's pretty incredible. I just hope that he continues to let himself do that and I think he'll be just fine.”
Suzuki has even impressed himself with his performance. Asked if this is the best season he’s had in baseball, he said he “would say so.”
“I'm surprised myself with how much RBIs I've been getting, how much home runs I've been getting,” Suzuki added. “I never would've thought that those numbers would be there, so I just want to stay consistent with it and take it into the second half.”
Again, his first-half numbers didn’t lead to his first All-Star nod, but Suzuki found benefits in getting that break.
There was an invitation to participate in the Home Run Derby, though he turned it down (and joked he couldn’t win it anyway). He also quipped that, for the All-Star Game, “I was asleep the whole time, so I didn't watch it once.”
All jokes aside, he was thankful to have a few days to rest. He noted this is the first time in his four-year career he didn’t miss a significant chunk of the first half due to injury, and a bit of fatigue built up. Despite it only being a few days, the break gave him a chance to just rest his body in preparation for the second half.
The 58-39 Cubs are counting on him to continue to help lead one of the best offenses in the game as they look to lock up the NL Central over the next two-plus months. Perhaps that rest he got over the All-Star break played a role in Suzuki blasting his team to a win to kick off the stretch run
“Seiya got a lot of good family time [over the break],” Crow-Armstrong said. “I'm glad he got his sleep. I just want a rested Seiya every day. That's a good Seiya. That's the best Seiya.”