While correcting it is a whole other matter, Alex Verdugo does know what he’s doing wrong right now.
The Boston Red Sox outfielder, typically a steady hitter for average with the ability to catch a barrel and go deep, has been struggling mightily offensively. It’s been clear he’s felt a little uncomfortable in the box, and the result has been a 12-for-51 (.235 average) thus far into July.
He’s at the point of trying everything he can, which has helped him diagnose the problem.
“My lower body is drifting,” Verdugo said, via The Boston Globe. “I have the feeling of staying back where my head is staying back, but my hips and my legs are drifting forward. …
“My shoulders are coming out (of the zone), my hips are coming out,” Verdugo said, via The Boston Globe. “What I usually do so well is I stand upright. I’m together.”
Amid the slump, Sox manager Alex Cora bumped Verdugo down to sixth in the lineup for Monday’s rout of the Toronto Blue Jays, putting Jarren Duran in the second spot. That worked out for most everyone, including Verdugo to a degree. He went hitless, but scored two runs, walking three times. That he’s putting together good at-bats is a sign things increasingly are coming together.
Verdugo is a big part of what the Red Sox do offensively. All signs suggest he will get back on track in due course, which will provide a jolt to an offense that, prior to Monday, has been fighting through it.
