Bobby Dalbec seems to have found his groove throughout the last week and his three-hit performance for Boston on Saturday was the most recent example.
The Red Sox first baseman now is 11-for-30 in his last eight games. Dalbec has recorded three home runs and two triples with eight RBIs during the stretch. He was a perfect 3-for-3 in Saturday’s 7-1 win over the Kansas City Royals with three RBIs and a two-run home run.
Dalbec acknowledged how his timing has been the biggest difference, and explained one specific adjustment he’s made in order to be more consistent.
“I’ve been choking up. Easy way to create more time for myself and that’s what I needed to do. So if I am a little bit tardy I have that to help me out a little bit,” Dalbec said on a postgame video conference. “Less length on the bat, less bat to get around into the zone.”
Dalbec noted how it’s something he had done prior in his career, but never as consistently as he has of late.
“I think I’m just on time more consistently,” Dalbec said. “It’s not just a few pitches a game or one pitch an at bat. I think that’s the biggest thing — being early.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora believes the quality of Dalbec’s at bats are better as a result, too.
It’s also helped Dalbec use all parts of the field perhaps best depicted with his RBI triple to left field and 381-foot homer to right.
“I mean, I haven’t really been trying to pull the ball this season. I’ve just been late and rushed so it looks like that,” Dalbec said. “Definitely something I’ve been talking about is, my bread and butter has been driving the ball to opposite-field gap and in the air to right field. I’ve been working on it. So glad it came about today.”
And perhaps most importantly is it’s clearly helped Dalbec’s confidence.
“I’m just trying to ride the wave. Let go of things quicker. Just not really put as much pressure on myself day-to-day, pitch-to-pitch,” he said. “So just just trying to have fun with it. Team is winning, that’s all that matters.”
Dalbec and the Red Sox will return to the diamond Sunday for the final game of their three-game set. First pitched is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET, and your can watch it on NESN.
