Yonder Alonso says he’s not get as many good pitches to hit as he’s used to, and is missing when gets them.
MINNEAPOLIS – Yonder Alonso is not ready to call it a season.
“What is it, May 26?” he said. “I got six homers and (22) RBIs. You can get hot in a month and have 16 homers and 50 RBI by the [All-Star] break, so who in the hell is saying I’m struggling, right?’’
Alonso’s .182 batting average says he’s struggling. Only three extra-base hits for the entire month of May – a homer at Toronto on the 12th, a double on a 4-for-4 night against the Royals on the 16th in Chicago and a double in the Sox’ game against the Twins Sunday – screams he is. Alonso was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
“Oh man, ups and downs,” he said. “I’ve had some good days and bad days. I’ve had good at-bats -- I’m leading the team in walks (26, 11 or more than anyone else), which tells you a lot. And I’m not getting pitched to as much. When I am getting my pitches I’m missing them, so I’m getting into longer counts.’’
Alonso knows what he’s done in the past – rank among the top five AL first basemen in hits, RBI, runs, walks, homers, doubles and runs scored over the last five seasons heading into this one.
He was an AL All-Star two years ago. He played his 1,000th game Saturday. And so the past is what he has to cling to as June approaches.
“I’ve done it before,” Alonso said. “I’ve hit 10 homers in a month and I’ve had 20 RBI in a month, so I wouldn’t consider it [struggling]. You can have a rough patch in September or August and nobody says anything.
“It’s such a long season. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
The start has faced heightened scrutiny, though, because Alonso was acquired in a trade with the Indians for minor league outfielder Alex Call at least in part to entice free agent Manny Machado, his brother-in-law, and by also manning the cleanup spot of manager Rick Renteria’s lineups. Renteria bumped Alonso, mostly a fifth- and sixth-place hitter during his career, down to seventh earlier in the week but he was back to hitting fourth Sunday against Twins right-hander Jake Odorizzi in a lineup thinned by injuries to Tim Anderson and Leury Garcia.
Alonso had good pitches to hit and put good swings on them his first two times up but flied out. He doubled against Trevor May in the seventh, sending Jose Abreu to third with no outs, but Eloy Jimenez, Jose Rondon and Yolmer Sanchez went down in succession without producing a run.
“My exit velocity is about two miles [per hour] up, so it’s like, what’s really happening here?” he said. “But I can’t miss my pitches, man. I can’t miss pitches I can hurt somebody with. I’m getting them, I’m staying patient with it and the work has been getting better and better. It’s going to come.”
Alonso is also DHing more than ever, for which there is a learning curve.
“Working as a professional, I come in here ready to play every single day,” he said. “Give it all I got every single day.”
