Daniel Palka was one of the highlights of the 2018 season, hitting a surprising 27 home runs and wowing fans with impressive exit velocities.
So far in 2019, Palka is still waiting to make an impact. Palka didn’t play Sunday amd is 0 for 21 on the season with nine strikeouts.
“There are positives, things feel good, it’s just a little bit of pressing right now,” Palka said. “Kind of took a step back after yesterday and just restarted. Mechanically, everything looks good. It’s just a matter of one dropping in there and getting started. I think the thing that annoys me most is that I’m not contributing to wins. I want to give the guys high fives on my side, too. It’s just a matter of staying positive. Not much else to say about it.”
Palka knows one hit could change things for him. He just can’t rush into anything and try to force action.
“Realistically, I’ve just got to be patient. I’m not someone who gets a lot of pitches to hit because of some of the successes I’ve had,” Palka said. “My mentality is always like, ‘I want to do it, I want to do it now.’ I’ve just got to take a step back and be patient up there.”
To be Tuesday?
Manager Rick Renteria didn’t confirm, but Ervin Santana is a good bet to start Tuesday against Tampa Bay. Limited to five starts last season in Minnesota because of a right middle finger issue, Santana joined the Sox on Feb. 23 and made two spring training appearances.
After a season dealing with injury issues, Santana is glad to be healthy.
“Big difference to just be myself right now and playing catch and all the throwing,” Santana said.
Jonesing to improve
In an inning of work Saturday, Nate Jones struck out two and his velocity reached 96. It was a good sign for Jones, who had a 12.15 ERA in spring training and entered Saturday with a 16.20 ERA in three regular-season appearances.
“We’re hoping that every time we get him out there he’s able to get more and more comfortable,” Renteria said. “He had a lot of down time last year so hopefully he’s on track and trending upward. I’m hoping every outing we give him puts him in a better position to become who he was in the past and he’s able to help us in big situations.”
But Renteria might be hesitant to use Jones on consecutive days.
On Sunday, Jones and Manny Banuelos were the only unused relievers, while top bullpen arms Kelvin Herrera pitched the eighth and Alex Colome threw the ninth in a game that was effectively over.
“I would rather not speak to that because then, obviously… we want to do that. We want to be able to use Nate back-to-back,” Renteria said. “Let me put it to you that way.”
Banuelos threw three innings Saturday.
Briefly
Outfielder Ryan Cordell was optioned to Class AAA Charlotte. A corresponding move will be announced Monday.
