PHOENIX (AP) — Eugenio Suárez homered twice, Corbin Carroll had two triples and the Arizona Diamondbacks cruised to a 10-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
Suárez has five multi-homer games this season, including . Carroll leads the big leagues with 12 triples.
The 34-year-old Suárez is in an intriguing spot as the trade deadline approaches. The All-Star third baseman has 33 homers and is arguably the best power bat on the market, but it’s unclear if the D-backs will be buyers or sellers considering their 49-50 record is still on the fringe of the National League playoff race.
Suarez’s 18 homers since June 1 are the most in the big leagues.
D-backs righty Ryne Nelson (6-2) had a quality start, giving up one run on four hits over six innings.
The D-backs jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning after Carroll hit a leadoff triple and Geraldo Perdomo brought him home with a single. Josh Naylor reached on catcher’s interference with two outs and Suarez to left field.
Arizona pushed the advantage to 5-0 in the second after Blaze Alexander and Perdomo hit RBI singles. Suarez went deep again in the third with a solo shot to right center.
St. Louis right-hander Sonny Gray (9-4) gave up a season-high nine runs, including eight earned, over 3 1/3 innings. He gave up 11 hits and struck out five.
Alec Burleson hit a solo homer in the sixth for the Cardinals, who have lost 10 of their past 14 games.
Key moment
Carroll’s leadoff triple was a harbinger of the offensive onslaught that was coming.
Key stat
The Diamondbacks scored at least one run in each of the first four innings.
Up next
The Cardinals will throw RHP Miles Mikolas (5-6, 4.94 ERA), while the D-backs counter with RHP Merrill Kelly (8-5, 3.34) in the series finale Sunday.
___
AP MLB:
