BOSTON -- Triston Casas was supposed to lift up the Boston Red Sox offense when he returned in mid-August from a rib injury that kept him out for four months.
Initially, all went well for Casas. He collected six multi-hit games in his first 10 games back, but since then, the 24-year-old first baseman dramatically cooled off.
Casas is batting just .097 (3-for-36) with no home runs and two RBIs over his last 11 games. He also has struck out 12 times over that span while walking just four times. With Casas mired in a slump, Red Sox manager Alex Cora took the opportunity to give the slugging first baseman some advice.
"I had a good conversation with Triston after Sunday," Cora said prior to Tuesday's matchup against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. "He was walking me through his approach. How he felt when he went to Baltimore, where he was swing-wise and what he was trying to accomplish. One thing I told him, 'Man, you're a good hitter. Sometimes just keep it simple. See the ball, hit it.' That's the best approach for him. So, hopefully we get back to that."
Cora gave Casas a breather and didn't play him in Monday's win over the Orioles. Cora believed getting a chance to see things from the dugout could help Casas find his swing again.
"All depends how many swings he took mentally in the dugout and now he might be tired," Cora joked. "But just watching the game from that end is always good."
Cora tried to take pressure off Casas by batting him seventh in Tuesday's contest with the Orioles sending Albert Suárez to the mound. It's certainly not the spot in the lineup expected for Casas when he returned from injury.
But that could help him get back on track without having to feel he needs to carry the offense. He's clearly pressing at the plate and Cora sees him overthinking his at-bats, too.
"I think he's been trying to accomplish a lot of things in every at-bat and in the end it's not happening for him," Cora said. "But it's not lack of thought, not lack of process. It's probably too much of that."
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