For all of the balls Austin Hays has hit into gloves of late, the sight of a fluttering blooper falling between defenders in shallow proper discipline for an RBI double Tuesday was a aid for the Orioles outfielder.
The ball had an anticipated batting common of .120, in accordance with Statcast, but it produced the go-ahead run for the Orioles in a 4-3 series-opening win towards the Washington Nationals.
“I was glad to see it hit some grass,” Hays mentioned.
That hasn’t been the case for Hays throughout the second half of the season. He exploded earlier than the All-Star break, grew to become the sixth Oriole to hit for the cycle and appeared poised to proceed that breakout efficiency deep into summer time and early fall.
Instead, after his cycle on June 22, Hays entered Sunday with a .197 common and .575 OPS. His energy numbers are down, his groundballs up and his seek for an answer ongoing. After June 22, Hays’ hard-hit share has fallen about 10 share factors. His groundball and popup charges have risen.
Hays is a streaky hitter who seeks to duplicate his mechanics. As he watches video from the second half, he notices how they’ve wavered, getting out in entrance of pitches when he needs to be driving them. It’s that space by which Hays hopes to enhance most, and with 4 hits in his final two video games, maybe he’s discovered his approach once more.
“The consistency of the good mechanics, it hasn’t been nearly as consistent as what it was in the first half,” Hays mentioned. “I’ll have a stretch of a week and a half where everything is really good, solid. And then I have a couple days where it’s just ground ball, ground ball, ground ball, ground ball, and I try to reset it and get back to where I was at.”
It’s simpler mentioned than performed. As supervisor Brandon Hyde watched Hays lately, he observed how Hays tends to chase extra — of the pitches he sees out of the zone, Hays is swinging at a career-high 37% of them.
Hyde mentioned Hays is “really jumpy right now,” and “more lungey than normal.” It’s a part of a stretch that features 4 multi-hit video games in his earlier 29 video games getting into Sunday. Then on Sunday, in a 1-0 loss towards the Boston Red Sox, he managed two hits. Hays added a pair Tuesday, too, with that bloop double and a pointy single to left.
When Hays seems again on final season, his first-pitch swing and meatball swinging numbers are too low for his liking. He’s risen each this season, with a career-high 37.2% first-pitch swings. He’s not taking as many middle-middle pitches, both.
“If I’m getting a meatball, which is in the middle part of the zone, if I’m getting that meatball in the first pitch of the at-bat, that’s a good one to hit, and that’s going to result in hard contact,” Hays mentioned. “So for me, just focusing on, if the game allows it, swinging at that first pitch.”
The outcomes haven’t adopted in earnest. But final week, Hyde questioned aloud how a bloop to proper discipline that lands is likely to be all Hays must get going once more.
That bloop double got here Tuesday, a possible signal that Hays might be breaking out of his hunch — and be getting some much-needed luck. For a participant who has misplaced his really feel at random moments, he’ll take a smooth hit from time to time.
“Just for whatever reason, it seems to show up every now and again,” Hays mentioned. “It’s baseball. If you knew why, it would never happen. It is what it is.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com