Mike Napoli Comes Alive For Red Sox After Dustin Pedroia Film Session

BOSTON — The Red Sox spent close to six hours on a plane this past Sunday, making the long journey home from the Pacific Northwest after the conclusion of a 10-game road trip.

For the duration of that half-dozen-hour flight, one simple question consumed the mind of first baseman Mike Napoli: Why am I not hitting?

Napoli, who’s been a middle-of-the-order hitter since he arrived in Boston two years ago, carried onto that plane a batting average of .162. Of Boston batters who had appeared in 20 or more games this season, only Daniel Nava’s .160 mark was worse.

For a man who’s shown in the past an ability to do serious damage at the plate, Napoli knew something needed to change. So, he asked for help.

“Me and (second baseman Dustin Pedroia) had a conversation on the way home from Seattle,” he said. “It was a long flight. We looked at some video. Obviously, I’ve been struggling, so we saw some video, some things I wasn’t doing in spring training. I wasn’t getting into my load position. He pointed that out to me. We looked at it and looked at video of what I’m doing now.”

He proved to be a fast learner.

After striking out with the bases loaded in his first at-bat Tuesday night, Napoli went on to collect hits in two of his final three plate appearances — a solo home run and a run-scoring infield single — as Boston knocked off the Texas Rangers 4-3 at Fenway Park.

It was Napoli’s first multi-hit effort since April 25 and just his third of the season.

“You’ve got to get back to the basics sometimes,” said Pedroia, who went 2-for-5 with two doubles in the win. “When you go through funks, you put too much pressure on yourself instead of just getting back to seeing the ball and kind of simplifying everything. So, it was good for him to see some results and put good swings on it (Tuesday night). It’s something to build on for him.”

Napoli’s extra hours of film study did not go unnoticed by the man whose opinion matters most: manager John Farrell.

“I think he’s been able to identify something in his timing,” Farrell said. “That seemed to play out (Tuesday night). He played a very good game. … The home run to the pull side on the breaking ball — that’s a pitch that he’s been missing lately. Just a very good swing on that ball.”

While Napoli wasn’t about to declare his brutal slump a thing of the past after one good night, he took pride in the fact that, for once, he was the one propelling the Red Sox’s offense rather than dragging it down.

“It’s nice,” he said. “It’s nice to contribute. I’ve been working hard to get back into my rhythm and where I need to be, so it was nice to be able to do that and contribute.”

Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images