TAMPA — DJ LeMahieu appeared misplaced on the plate for a lot of the first half, however the former batting champion has proven off extra of a classic swing in latest weeks.
LeMahieu is slashing .311/.423/.476 with 5 doubles, 4 dwelling runs and 6 RBI in 30 video games because the All-Star break. For comparability, the Yankees infielder hit .220/.285/.357 with 13 doubles, seven homers and 27 RBI in 76 video games previous to the Midsummer Classic.
That stretch had of us questioning if the times of LeMahieu’s machine-like manufacturing had been over after a foot/toe harm derailed his 2022 season. But the 35-year-old seems to have come out on the opposite aspect of a chronic stoop, even when he received’t say so.
“I don’t feel like I’m out of anything,” LeMahieu stated Friday after the Yankees beat the Rays at Tropicana Field. “We’ve got a month’s worth of games left. It’s just continuing to move forward and continue to improve and be better.”
LeMahieu spoke after a 3-for-4 efficiency that additionally noticed him file his first multi-homer recreation since May 7, 2021. The veteran hit a pair of solo pictures, first taking a pointy Zach Eflin deep within the fifth inning earlier than attending to Trevor Kelley within the eighth.
The energy surge helped the Yankees cruise to a 6-2 win.
“It was so good to see,” stated Aaron Boone, who highlighted “a little, subtle adjustment” LeMahieu made to his load on the plate. “That’s building some speed in his swing and keeping him in the zone with a little more authority. And we’re seeing the patient at-bats, too. He was aggressive tonight, but he’s been getting on base at a big clip, too, which is always a huge part of his game.”
LeMahieu, in the meantime, stated that his load has been “a lot better. It’s a lot more consistent. I feel like I’m in a better spot.”
That specific facet of LeMahieu’s hitting mechanics has been a spotlight for months. Former Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson mentioned a difficulty with LeMahieu’s load in June, explaining that the hitter was not striding towards the center of the sector.
“When you swing, your energy should go right out to center field, straight. His stride’s a little bit more toward shortstop right now,” Lawson stated, which was inflicting LeMahieu to fly open.
Lawson labored on changes with LeMahieu within the cage, however the hitter didn’t begin to see outcomes till after the Yankees changed the coach with Sean Casey through the All-Star break.
On Friday, LeMahieu referred to as Casey “a huge help for me.”
“I relate to him really well,” LeMahieu continued. “Great optimistic vitality, nice man, and he’s nice to speak hitting with.
“We have similar approaches to the game and hitting. A lot of stuff he says, for me, it brings me back to other times in my career that I’ve come out of [slumps].”
While LeMahieu has not been vital of Lawson, Brian Cashman lately stated that the fired hitting coach had not linked sufficient with gamers.
“You have to get player acceptance or buy-in, and that connectivity or relationship building wasn’t there,” the overall supervisor stated on Aug. 23. “So I obviously made a change, something I’ve never done [in-season].”
While the Yankees’ general offensive numbers haven’t modified a lot underneath Casey — one thing Cashman acknowledged — LeMahieu has actually seemed higher because the change.
Boone, in the meantime, is proud of the job Casey and the Yankees’ assistant hitting coaches are doing.
“Sean’s done a really good job connecting with these guys,” Boone stated. “And that said, Brad [Wilkerson] and Casey Dykes, they’ve worked really well together. In some cases, we’ve seen results come. Others, it’s still been a struggle. But [Friday] was a really good night against a good pitching staff and a really good pitcher.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com