CINCINNATI -- Having been eliminated from the postseason, there is only one race left for the Reds during this final week of their 2019 season and it’s the one that has third baseman Eugenio Suárez in pursuit of the Mets’ Pete Alonso for the Major League home run title.

Suárez went homerless in the weekend series against Alonso and the Mets, and he wasn’t able to do any damage on Sunday afternoon in some big moments during the Reds’ 6-3 loss at Great American Ball Park.

“They pitched me different,” said Suárez, who went 1-for-5 with a first-inning single that skipped off pitcher Marcus Stroman and into right field. “They pitched me backwards -- sinkers, cutters and sliders -- more cutters that were front door. They pitched me really good today with those front-door cutters. All those guys throw hard cutters, 90-plus mph.”

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Suárez remained at 48 homers while Alonso raised his total to 50 with his lone homer in the series on Friday against reliever Sal Romano.

On Sunday, Reds starter Trevor Bauer delivered seven mixed innings while allowing five earned runs on six hits -- two of them home runs -- with no walks and eight strikeouts. A big blow was Michael Conforto’s three-run homer to right field in the first inning that staked the Mets to a 4-0 lead.

In the Reds’ fifth inning, after Kyle Farmer slugged a two-out solo homer to right field to cut the deficit to 4-2, Stroman walked the bases loaded, sending Suárez to the plate with a chance to flip the game. Reliever Brad Brach replaced Stroman and induced a first-pitch popout to second base from Suárez with a cutter.

In the seventh inning after reliever Edwin Díaz issued a pair of walks, Suárez came up representing the tying run, and after being down 0-2, he worked a full count when he took a 100 mph fastball down and away. On the sixth pitch of the sequence, Díaz went back to the same location -- this time with a 90 mph hard slider. It was well off the plate and would’ve been ball four, but Suárez took a swing, and missed for a strikeout.

It was the bottom of the ninth with two outs against lefty reliever Justin Wilson and Joey Votto on first base when Suárez fanned on a 2-2 outside fastball not in the strike zone to end the game.

“You see the damage he does with the home runs,” Reds manager David Bell said of Suárez. “I’ve also seen, recently, where he’s been able to make some adjustments and maybe shorten [his swing] a little bit where he’s coming up with some big singles too. He wasn’t able to do that today.”

Suárez is batting .272 with a .927 OPS, and he has a career-high 102 RBIs in 153 games. The last two career years he’s had have increased his profile around the league and, like any accomplished hitter, pitchers are constantly searching for ways to beat him.

“Sometimes, they’re making really tough pitches on him because he’s one of the guys that’s identified in our lineup a lot of times where they don’t want him to beat [them]. They’re going to pitch him tough, really tough. We see that a lot,” Bell said. “It makes it tough as a hitter when they’re not always coming right after you. In [Suárez]’s case, a lot of times they’re OK with walking him.”

Following Monday’s day off, the Reds have six games remaining -- three at home vs. the Brewers and three on the road at Pittsburgh to conclude the season. Suárez has eight homers this season vs. Milwaukee, including two against Tuesday’s scheduled starter Adrian Houser. On July 1 at Great American Ball Park, he went deep twice in an 8-6 loss -- once against Houser and once against All-Star power lefty reliever Josh Hader. Suárez got Houser again on July 22 at Miller Park during another two-homer game.

Suárez is not just clearing the fences at cozy Great American Ball Park, as more than half of his homers -- 25 -- have been hit on the road. Against the Pirates, Suárez has hit two homers this season, including one at PNC Park. Of his 146 career homers, 15 have come against the Brewers and 15 have been against the Pirates.

Therefore, not only does Suárez have a chance to overtake Alonso, he still has a realistic chance to do even more. He is one homer away from setting a new single-season record for home runs hit by a National League third baseman. He’s currently tied with Mike Schmidt (1980 with the Phillies) and Adrian Beltre (2004 with the Dodgers).

If Suárez can get to 52 homers, he would tie George Foster’s 1977 franchise record. It’s also the Major League record for homers as a third baseman in a season, set by Alex Rodriguez with the Yankees in 2007.

“It’s always going to be a good feeling when you’re just two homers behind [Alonso],” Suárez said. “I try not to think too much about that. When you start thinking about that, it’s when you’re in trouble. I don’t want to do that. I just want to keep doing what I’ve done the last couple of series and be focused on my at-bats, every time.”