It’s certainly been a tough season for Jackie Bradley Jr.
The Boston Red Sox outfielder is batting just .181 with three home runs and 14 RBIs with a whopping 60 strikeouts. He went 0-for-4 in three consecutive games, and hasn’t gotten a hit since the June 9 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Though it’s been a tough go-around at the dish for the 28-year-old, Red Sox manager Alex Cora continues to put him in the starting nine, telling the Providence Journal’s Bill Koch he’s “being very disciplined.”
“Everybody looks at Jackie’s stretch, but the people that are watching the game, he’s getting close,” he told Koch. “He hit two missiles today — yesterday, the same thing.
“He’s in a good spot. Like I told him after the game (Wednesday), ‘Don’t change a thing. Stay right there.’ I know it’s frustrating sometimes,” Cora continued. “As a manager, he hits another bullet right at somebody and I don’t even know what to say anymore. I’ve been in that spot.”
Encouraging words from the manager.
Bradley has been making solid contact with some pitches, unfortunately, the balls he’s hit have been rockets right into the opposing players’ glove, or deep fly balls.
While it’s encouraging the center fielder has been making that quality contact and showing discipline at the plate, the proof is in the numbers of Bradley’s struggles. The good news, though? Cora seems confident enough to think an offensive surge could be on the horizon.
