Overview
- Suzuki drove a three-run homer off Walker Buehler on Wednesday that sailed over the ivy at Wrigley Field to become the 100th home run of his MLB career.
- The blast made Suzuki the fourth Japanese-born player to reach 100 career homers, joining Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki and Shohei Ohtani.
- After tweaking his right knee on June 13 and an early post-injury lull, Suzuki has hammered three homers since the prior Friday and carried a .714 slugging percentage over his last five games.
- His 2026 season has shown sharp month-to-month swings, with very strong April and June performance and a pronounced slump in May that still leaves his year-to-date production uneven.
- Beyond the home run, reports note improved contact and defensive play, trends that could help the Cubs in the second half and increase Suzuki’s leverage as he approaches free agency.