The good vibes started for Eugenio Suarez the minute he walked back into T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

The Cincinnati Reds’ veteran infielder received a standing ovation when he was introduced before his first at-bat Monday and shared a hug with Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh at the plate.

Those good vibes continued for Suarez on Tuesday night as he hit a solo homer off old friend Luis Castillo in the fourth inning to help lead the Reds to a 4-2 victory.

The rubber match in the three-game interleague series will be Wednesday afternoon.

This week is Suarez’s first trip back to the ballpark in which he hit a deciding grand slam for the Mariners in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series last fall against Toronto. The Blue Jays went on to win the series in seven games, however, preventing Seattle from making its first trip to the World Series.

Suarez signed with Cincinnati as a free agent in the offseason but always will be remembered fondly for his two stints in Seattle and his signature catchphrase, “good vibes only.”

The Mariners put together a video montage of his playoff heroics that they showed on the scoreboard Monday.

“Seattle’s been nice to me. It’s got part of my heart here,” Suarez said. “I had a lot of good moments here … especially last year.”

The homer on Tuesday came with Suarez leading off the fourth inning. Castillo tried to sneak a first-pitch fastball past Suarez, but he hit it 405 feet to center field.

“I think I’m going to hear it for the rest of our lives,” Castillo said through an interpreter. “We have a really good relationship, so I don’t think I’m ever going to forget that one.”

Elly De La Cruz and Nathaniel Lowe added solo homers, and Chase Burns pitched five scoreless innings for the Reds. Seattle’s Weston Wilson and Julio Rodriguez also went deep.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson spent a few minutes chatting with Suarez before Monday’s opener.

“What he’s done on the field is remarkable, but what he’s done off the field and just what he brought to our clubhouse and what he brings to this game … he’s one of the good people in this game, and you know it goes beyond being a good teammate,” Wilson said. “He’s got the ability to show up and be the same person every day. I think that’s a superpower in this game.”

With the Mariners looking for a right-handed power bat before the trade deadline next month, could a third Seattle stint for the 35-year-old Suarez be possible?

“I’ve been in this situation a couple of times already, and I try not to think too much about it,” Suarez said of trade rumors. “I just do my best on the field, try to help my team win games.”

Suarez is batting .208 this season, with 13 homers and 37 RBIs.

The series finale will feature a pair of right-handers who were former first-round draft picks in the Reds’ Brady Singer (4-9, 4.56 ERA) and the Mariners’ Emerson Hancock (6-4, 3.17).

Singer won his last start Friday 7-2 at Colorado when he allowed two runs on four hits over seven innings with no walks and six strikeouts. He’s 1-2 with a 3.93 ERA in seven career appearances against Seattle, including six starts.

Hancock didn’t get a decision in his last start July 12 at Tampa Bay when he pitched just 1 2/3 innings in Seattle’s 8-2 victory after taking a comebacker off his pitching hand. That followed a 4-0 victory July 5 against visiting Toronto in which he allowed just two hits over seven scoreless innings.

Hancock is 0-0 with a 3.60 ERA in one previous start vs. Cincinnati.

–Field Level Media

Coors Field always has been a hitter-friendly park, and the Washington Nationals have helped continue that narrative.

After belting five homers over the first two contests against the Colorado Rockies, the Nationals will look to do more damage in the finale of a three-game series on Wednesday afternoon in Denver.

The Nationals will send Cade Cavalli (6-4, 3.78 ERA) to the mound against Colorado rookie Gabriel Hughes (0-1, 3.14) in a matchup of right-handers.

Cavalli allowed two runs on four hits and struck out nine batters over six innings in a 23-4 romp over the Athletics on Friday.

He will face the Rockies for the first time in his career. Cavalli will try to pitch the Nationals to a series victory after Colorado’s 8-7 win Tuesday night.

Washington’s offense is rolling of late and has surged to the top of the major leagues in several categories. The Nationals, who are in fourth place in the National League East at 51-51, are first in the majors in runs (559), home runs (149), RBIs (533) and stolen bases (111).

“A lot of it’s just going about their business the same way and not trying to do anything differently,” manager Blake Butera said Monday. “I think sometimes when you worry about that a little bit, it can change your approach — especially offensively — if you’re trying to get the ball in the air maybe a little bit more because you know that the ball is flying better. So we’re just trying to make sure these guys stay true to their plans.”

The Rockies have power, too, led by Hunter Goodman, who gave them the win with his solo shot in the eighth inning on Tuesday night. He tied his career high of 31 homers, set last season, and has four over the last three games after a 10-game drought.

With the Nationals’ scoring at a high rate, putting up runs is key for Colorado, something Goodman knew heading into the series.

“They have a really good offense, they’ve been doing it all year, but so have we,” Goodman said after Tuesday night’s win. “We knew it was going to be one of those series where we’re just fighting the whole time. It’s the same approach we take every day: We’re never out of the game; we’re always in it.”

Hughes, who has never faced Washington, will make his fourth career appearance and third start. He made his major league debut against San Francisco on July 3 with three scoreless innings, and his first big-league start came at the Los Angeles Dodgers five days later.

He pitched well against the reigning World Series champions, allowing three runs over six innings, and took the loss in his next start, against Cincinnati. He gave up two runs over 5 1/3 innings in a 7-2 defeat to the Reds.

Hughes, the 10th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, is averaging nearly a strikeout per inning (14 over 14 1/3 frames).

–Field Level Media

The Arizona Diamondbacks enjoyed their best game of the season at the plate as they thumped the visiting Athletics 15-5 on Wednesday to claim the rubber match of their three-game series in Phoenix.

Each of the starters in the lineup reached base, and nine Diamondbacks batters registered hits as the team posted season highs in runs, hits (17) and home runs (five).

Arizona also celebrated milestones as catcher James McCann (3-for-4, 3 RBIs) hit his 100th career homer in the fifth inning just two batters before rookie Ryan Waldschmidt (2-for-4, 3 RBIs) cracked his first. Gabriel Moreno hit a solo homer to cap the Diamondbacks’ seven-run fifth.

Ildemaro Vargas also finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI before closing the rout on the mound by allowing two runs in the ninth.

Corbin Carroll (2-for-4) homered and hit his MLB-best 11th triple. Tim Tawa (2-for-5) doubled and brought home a pair while Ketel Marte (2-for-4) doubled and scored. Nolan Arenado homered during his only official at-bat and scored three times while drawing three walks.

Merrill Kelly (8-8) was the beneficiary of this outburst as he went five innings and gave up two runs on five hits and a walk. He allowed a solo homer to the Athletics’ Jeff McNeil (2-for-4) in the fifth that tied the game at 2 after Carroll and Arenado put Arizona ahead with solo shots in the fourth.

It was all Arizona from there as the team clinched its eighth win in the last 10 games by scoring seven times in the fifth and five in the six.

The Athletics dropped to 2-13 in their last 15 as starter Gage Jump (3-6) gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings on eight hits and four walks. He struck out five but also gave up three homers.

Reliever Yunior Tur, pitching in his second major league game, allowed eight runs on five hits and three walks in just 2/3 of an inning. He gave up the homers to McCann and Waldschmidt that made it 9-2 after five.

–Field Level Media