Padres Coach Knew Robert Suarez Was Tipping Pitches Before Viral Red Sox Video

On Saturday, cameras caught the Boston Red Sox viewing images of San Diego Padres closer Robert Suarez's different set-ups for throwing a fastball versus a changeup.

However, Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla knew about the difference already, as relayed by Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

"I know it was made a big deal," Niebla said prior to San Diego's 4-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Monday. "I got 36 DM messages about it. But it’s like, 'Yeah, we already know.'"

Lin gave a little insight into the difference between the two.

"It was not much of a juxtaposition — save for the fact that in the latter frame, a bit more of Suarez’s right hand was visible from a center-field angle," Lin said.

It's unclear whether or not that helped the Red Sox on Saturday.

Suarez did blow a save in the top of the ninth when Roman Anthony hit a game-tying double off a 98-mph fastball. The camera shot occurred right before third baseman Alex Bregman's at-bat. Suarez settled down to induce a foul popout before intentionally walking Jarren Duran and then striking out Trevor Story to end the threat. San Diego won 5-4 in 10 innings.

As Niebla noted to Lin, the Padres work all year on trying to iron out anything that leads to tipping pitches.

“The whole year,” Niebla said. “That’s one of our things in spring training where we’re like, ‘Hey, this is what you do to tip pitches.’ And … through the course of the year, when you’re working through battles or however you want to put it, some tendencies start showing back up. And we’re always cross-checking, cross-checking, cross-checking.

“In the heat of the battle, sometimes that’s the last thing (pitchers) might be thinking about. You know, it might show up. But overall, I think we’ve been really good as a team.”

Regardless of what other teams might be spotting, Suarez has enjoyed a solid season that featured the four-year veteran making his second straight All-Star team. His 33 saves lead MLB, and he's posted a 1.23 ERA in 14 appearances. San Diego is also on fire, winning 12 of its last 15 games.