What Boston Red Sox' Alex Cora thought was ‘huge' in win over Yankees
NEW YORK — The Red Sox not only got a much needed win Saturday. They also got a combined seven RBIs out of the two hitters in their lineup who are struggling the most.
Trevor Story has the 13th worst OPS (.599) among qualified major league hitters. Rookie Kristian Campbell has the 33rd worst OPS (.661).
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But Story went 3-for-5 with five RBIs. Campbell went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. The Red Sox won 10-7 over the Yankees here at Yankee Stadium.
'Huge,' manager Alex Cora said about Campbell's two hits. 'Very important for him. Just contribute. That's what we're trying to do. ... He's been working hard with the group.'
The 22-year-old Campbell won American League Rookie of the Month for March/April, batting .301 with a .407 on-base percentage, .495 slugging percentage and .902 OPS in 29 games (123 plate appearances).
But he entered Saturday hitting .137 (13-for-95) with a .204 on-base percentage, .179 slugging percentage, .383 OPS and two extra-base hits in 26 games (103 plate appearances) since the beginning of May.
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'It's not lack of effort,' Cora said. 'These guys, they show up at 1 (p.m.) for a game at 7:30 just grinding with him and helping him out. Kind of like teach him, walk him through at-bats and situations and everything that comes with being a big leaguer. Today was a great day for him.'
Campbell connected on a cutter from Yankees starter Ryan Yarbrough in the second inning and hit a ground-ball RBI single to right field to make it 1-0 Boston. He connected on a changeup (outside bottom corner of the strike zone) from Yarbrough in the third inning and hit it to the opposite field again, putting the Red Sox ahead 6-3.
'Whenever I start hitting the ball that way, everything tends to figure itself back out,' Campbell said.
Campbell said it has been important for him to try to stay confident, take a lot of reps in the batting cage and just focus every day. He said 'everything's completely new' with this being his first big league season and so he's tried to take it as a learning experience.
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'I'm hard on myself sometimes but at the same time, I've gotta remember it's a process,' Campbell said.
The second baseman — who has also struggled defensively — did let a single get by him into right field. It looked like a routine grounder.
'I completely did not see the ball,' Campbell said. 'I lost it for a second.'
Story's three-run double down the left field line in the third inning turned a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead for Boston. Story also had a two-run single in the ninth inning to put the Red Sox ahead 10-7 after the Yankees had cut their deficit to one-run in the eighth.
'He's been swinging the bat well since Milwaukee,' Cora said about Story. 'I know the numbers don't show that and the strikeouts and all that. But he put some good at-bats, hit the ball hard, hit it on a line. We need everybody to contribute.'
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