Suarez (elbow) faced live hitters Sunday, throwing 15 pitches and touching 98 mph with his fastball, Jesus Cano of The Athletic reports. "I was very encouraged," manager Walt Weiss said afterward. "To be honest with you, I wasn't expecting that. I thought he kind of eased into it, but he let it go, and it was really good, and he felt really good afterwards."
The right-hander hasn't seen game action since June 19, but Suarez looks like he may be able to rejoin Atlanta's bullpen before the end of the regular season. He'll get in one more session against live hitters, and could then be sent on a brief rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett before the International League season ends next week. Suarez has a sparkling 0.56 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 26:6 K:BB through 32 innings this season with four wins, four saves and 12 holds in 31 appearances.