ST. LOUIS -- It’s been a nightmare 2021 season for Reds third baseman Eugenio Suárez. But in this final month, Suárez is starting to show signs of the hitter he was before this year.

Suárez went 2-for-3 with a second-inning solo home run and a key leadoff single in the ninth inning of Cincinnati’s 4-2 win over the Cardinals on Friday. It’s continued a solid stretch. He came into Saturday 6-for-15 (.400) with three homers and a 1.657 OPS over his previous seven games.

“Definitely this past week has been my best week all year long. I feel more comfortable. I feel that this is what I want to do the rest of this season,” Suárez said Saturday on the field after batting practice. “Yesterday was a really good game for me and the team. I helped my team win. That’s all that matters for me. I don’t want to think about the bad year. I just want to think about what we’re going to do and where we are, helping my team and making the playoffs.”

Suárez, 30, is ranked last among qualified Major League hitters with a .177 average; his .266 on-base percentage is second-to-last. He has a 66 OPS+, but he has slugged 26 homers with 70 RBIs, making this a unique statistical season.

Last month, after Mike Moustakas returned from the injured list, manager David Bell reduced Suárez’s playing time. He is utilized primarily against left-handed pitchers now, including Friday against starter Jon Lester and reliever T.J. McFarland.

“There is no doubt in my mind that no matter what, he has great success ahead just because of how he’s handled this whole situation,” Bell said. “He’s been an incredible teammate. It’s been a tough time. It’s been a tough year for him. He’s used to having success. He’s used to playing all the time. But he’s the same guy every day. He continues to work. He wants to win and he’s here for all of his teammates, even though it’s kind of an easy time to kind of get self-absorbed and think about yourself. He hasn’t done that.”

Being viewed as a good teammate means something to Suárez, who slugged a career-high 49 homers only two seasons ago.

“The most important thing to me is to be a good teammate,” he said. “They’re going to feel my support from the bench. I will do my best from the bench to let them know I am here for whatever.”

Games like Saturday still take getting used to for Suárez. Despite his big night Friday, he was not in the lineup Saturday as Moustakas started at third base vs. right-hander Miles Mikolas. Suárez came into the night 6-for-11 with two homers in his career vs. Mikolas, but still, he sat.

“It is hard. I’m a guy who plays every day. Now I am not playing every day,” said Suárez, who has three years and nearly $36 million left on his Reds contract. “I have to just do my job like always, but it’s a little bit harder when you don’t have the timing from playing every day. I take it and understand. Every time they give me the opportunity, I will do my best; I will give 100 percent and help the team. Last night was a really good sign for me.”

Givens’ special K vs. Molina

Called in for a ninth-inning save situation Friday, Reds reliever Mychal Givens had to face Yadier Molina as St. Louis' first batter. Molina had fired up the Busch Stadium crowd with a game-tying two-run homer in the fourth inning.

But against Givens, Molina struck out on three pitches. Givens went on to notch his seventh save.

“From my mindset, it was get ahead, stay ahead and put him in the dugout -- always, any hitter. It doesn’t matter who they are,” Givens said.

The strikeout was still special. Givens has Puerto Rican heritage and Molina is considered one of the best players Puerto Rico has ever produced.

“I always looked up to him, being Puerto Rican, and him being a very great idol as a Puerto Rican,” Givens said. “To be able to face him -- I think that was my first time facing him -- to have the opportunity to go out there and strike him out is a great feeling for me. A great leader and a great person for baseball.”