Panda has no bat luck
Ripping liners but none falling
The .224 batting average is deceiving. Pablo Sandoval is crushing the ball.
Sandoval entered Wednesday ranked 15th in the majors with an average exit velocity of 93.2 mph, higher than Nelson Cruz, Bryce Harper and Yoenis Cespedes, among others, according to MLB Statcast.
He’s been spraying line drives all over the field, though most of them have been landing in the gloves of opposing outfielders. He has a .222 average on balls in play, well below his career mark of .322.
Sandoval was the only Red Sox player to get multiple hits in their 3-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays last night, going 2-for-3.
“I think Pablo is one of the guys who has been swinging it better than a lot of guys,” said Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts. “He just has no luck. He’s been hitting hard-hit balls at people. People don’t see that. They just focus on average. But he’s been hitting some balls, having a lot of quality at-bats.”
Sandoval’s bad luck hasn’t deterred manager John Farrell from starting him regularly, even against lefties.
“While he’s squared some balls up there hasn’t been a whole lot of base hits that would be reflected in the batting average,” Farrell said.
Sandoval was in there last night against Blue Jays southpaw Francisco Liriano just one day after recording a single off lefty Aaron Loup. It was Sandoval’s first hit as a right-handed batter against a left-handed pitcher since 2015, when he was 2-for-41 before he abandoned switch-hitting.
“I was excited,” Sandoval said. “When you see all the result from all the work that you do in the cage, it shows you’re doing it the right way.”
After going 1-for-2 off Liriano, he’s 2-for-13 against lefties this season.
“For him, I’m sure he knows what the attention he’s had when he’s facing a left-hander,” Farrell said. “But he stayed through the middle of the field, get the groundball base hit for an RBI. Hopefully that’s a boost for him as he’s going to see some left-handers.”
When Josh Rutledge (hamstring) is ready to return from a rehab assignment in Triple-A Pawtucket, Sandoval’s at-bats against lefties could be limited. But with no right-handed platoon option, he’s going to keep playing daily.
Sandoval said his bad luck hasn’t deterred him.
“Some days you get hits, some days you hit the ball hard and they catch it,” he said. “You have to keep your mind the right way. You have to keep your head up, keep swinging the right way.”
Hitting coach Chili Davis has been working with Sandoval all spring to keep him from lunging with his body. Sandoval, who leads the team with three homers and 10 RBI, feels like he’s in a good place.
“I’ve been working hard with Victor Rodriguez and Chili Davis,” he said. “I’ve been putting in the work together to get in the right position and get my swing back the way I was swinging in spring training. That’s what I’ve been doing. That’s why I’ve been watching videos to compare swings that were working.
“I need to trust my hands. I was using my body. The last two at-bats I started using my hands, trusting my hands and I put the ball in play.”
Ring him up
Mookie Betts struck out swinging on a slider from Liriano in the fourth inning to end his run of 129 consecutive regular season plate appearances without striking out. He didn’t seem phased.
“It’s irrelevant,” he said. “It’s just an out. Whatever.”
No appreciation for the streak?
“No,” Betts said. “It’s just an out to me. It is what it is.”
It was the longest streak in the majors since Juan Pierre (147 plate appearances) in 2004.
“He’s a special player,” Farrell said of Betts. “He punches out the one time, comes right back with a base hit the next time. We’ll get more very good production out of him.”
Hard at work
David Price, whose recovery from an elbow strain has slowed this week, threw from 120 feet yesterday “with good intensity,” Farrell said. “Today was a good work day.”
He could get back on the mound tomorrow for a bullpen session in Baltimore, but is not expected to face live hitters yet. . . .
Tyler Thornburg is still in a long-toss phase and has to get on a mound as he continues to strengthen his shoulder.
“This has been a lengthy one,” Farrell said. . . .
Travis Shaw, who was one of the players traded when the Red Sox acquired Thornburg from the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason, hit his fourth homer of the season yesterday while batting third for the Brewers. . . .
Jackie Bradley Jr. was 1-for-3 with two walks and a homer in his final rehab start with Triple-A Pawtucket. He’ll work out with the PawSox today and then fly to Baltimore to join the Red Sox in time for the three-game series beginning tomorrow. . . .
Even with an off-day coming up on Monday, the Sox do not plan to adjust their rotation to keep anyone on regular rest, instead opting to give the starters an additional day of recovery time.