Springer tries to take it easier at the plate
CHICAGO — For roughly a week, George Springer has been putting extra focus into controlling his body at the plate. He has a big swing, and often the assumption is that he needs to cut the swing down. But to say a shortened swing is his priority at the moment isn’t the most accurate description of his cage work with hitting coach Dave Hudgens.
“These last six or seven days, I’ve been trying to be as slow as I can and decrease the effort, but still have the same swing,” Springer said over the weekend. “You just got to stick with that and, you know, carry over into the game.”
Before Evan Gattis delivered the big two-run hit in Sunday’s 7-6 win over the A’s, Springer struck out with two in scoring position and none out against righty Tyler Clippard. Jed Low- rie was walked intentionally after that, bringing Gattis to the plate.
Gattis’ success in the moment took Springer off the hook. But if the Astros had lost, he might have been more squarely in the bull’s-eye.
All any player is asked to do in the situation Springer found himself in is put the ball in play — preferably in the air — to give the Astros some chance of bringing the runner home from third.
Entering Monday, Springer was 6-for-26 (.231) through the first six games of this nine-game road trip, including two huge hits for the Astros in Friday’s 11-inning, 5-4 win over the A’s. He made a fantastic catch Sunday, leaping, grabbing and rolling onto the warning track in right field. He’s a contributor when he’s not hitting well.
But that doesn’t change the fact that his hitting has been poor this month. He came into Monday’s late game at San Diego hitting .188 with a .284 on-base percentage and a .333 slugging percentage.
“George is coming around,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s very hard on himself, and that’s not always a bad thing. I think players need to hold themselves pretty accountable, be tough on themselves. But for him to get timely hits (Friday) and begin the one rally with the double, and then come through with the tack-on run (in the 11th inning Friday) that proved to be very important is a good sign.
“George works on controlling his aggression. With George, it’s in overdrive sometimes, and he’s been trying to control the pace of his swing and understand he doesn’t have to overswing to do damage. He can do enough damage just at 80, 85, 90 percent.”
There’s work to be done, and Hudgens expects it to pay off.