Savvy veteran McCann giving lefthanders fits
Brian McCann’s presence in the Astros’ lineup Sunday night against Red Sox lefthander David Price might have been considered a stretch in past seasons, but not in the wake of McCann’s success this season against lefties.
Even though he can no longer count on the cozy confines of Yankee Stadium for a numbers boost, McCann’s retooled swing has found a groove in his first season at Minute Maid Park.
Entering Sunday’s game, he was hitting .297 against lefties with a .395 on-base figure and a .730 slugging percentage, with five of his 10 homers and 12 of 35 RBIs coming in only 37 at-bats against lefthanders of 163 total.
The five homers off lefthanders rank first in the American League for lefthanded hitters, and the 12 RBIs tie McCann for first with Jason Kipnis of the Indians.
Not since 2014, when he had eight homers off lefthanders, has McCann delivered so well in those matchups. A year ago, while struggling to a .242 season, he hit .218 against lefties with three homers in 87 at-bats.
McCann said 2012 shoulder surgery and the move to New York in 2014 from Atlanta turned him into a dead-pull hitter, and it wasn’t until the offseason that he determined to make some changes to improve his swing.
“I was doing just enough,” he said. “(In 2015), I drove in 94 runs and hit 26 homers, so it was hard to make that kind of wholesale change. But last year, assessing where I was at, I knew I wasn’t a .230 or .240 hitter.
“I needed to change my bat path through the zone, and I worked a lot during the offseason to get that back.”
He’s still a pull hitter, said manager A.J. Hinch, but the swing adjustment has enabled McCann to pull the ball even on pitches away from him.
“His body control has been great in this recent stretch and his ability to handle balls away from him,” Hinch said. “His pitch recognition is good, and his body control in the batter’s box has been excellent, especially against lefties.”
McCann entered Sunday’s game with hits in nine of his last 10 games with three doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs.
As for his veteran presence with the Astros’ young, physically taxed pitching staff, McCann’s demeanor brings to mind the impact of his longtime friend David Ross. Now working as an analyst for ESPN, Ross greeted McCann with a big hug and a 10-minute conversation prior to batting practice.
“He knows situations. He’s been through the trials of a season,” Ross said. “That makes you equipped for the mental side of helping coach young guys through struggles and success and how to stay levelheaded and grounded. So many great things come with him.”