The New York Yankees were on the wrong end of a 3-2 final score against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. In what’s been a common theme recently, Anthony Rizzo struggled. But manager Aaron Boone sees signs of a potential turnaround from the slumping veteran.
Rizzo entered June with solid numbers, slashing .304/.376/.505 with 11 homers and 32 RBI on the season. Since the beginning of June, though, it’s been a different story. Rizzo has not hit a home run or driven in a run. Boone gave Rizzo a day off on Saturday, hoping he could break out of the .037/.103/.037 funk that he’d been in for the month. But at least in the immediate aftermath, it didn’t work. Hitting third on Sunday, Rizzo drew a walk but went 0-for-3 in the game.
When the game was over, though, Boone expressed optimism that Rizzo’s funk will soon be over.
“I actually thought the day before the day off, he had a couple of balls that he stung, that he hit well. Just a little bit off. I mean, Riz, he’ll go through these things a little during the season but he’ll also figure it out. He’s a unique hitter. So it’s hard for me to kind of relate to what he does. But he obviously does it really well and has for a long, long time. He’s just going through a tough stretch right now. I thought his BP today was good and hopefully Tuesday we’ll start to see some fruits of that.”
"I thought his BP today was good and hopefully Tuesday we'll start to see some fruits of that."
– Aaron Boone on Anthony Rizzo pic.twitter.com/fKe6paBjiA
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 12, 2023
Citing Rizzo’s track record as a hitter is fine. He has a long history of producing and was doing fine just a couple of weeks ago. Hitters go through slumps. So, Boone is not out of place to believe in Rizzo’s track record and think that his current struggles won’t last.
But citing a good batting practice? That’s a different issue altogether. Much like a kicker making long field goals in pregame warmups or a basketball player shooting well in a shootaround, there’s a big difference between a practice and a game.
And that optimism was roundly questioned.
My only high school homer came off our coach in batting practice
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) June 12, 2023
Everyone looks good in BP you loon https://t.co/aTKs6zenUM
— JC🇵🇷 (@CantH0ldMe_) June 12, 2023
It’s certainly fair to at least ask Boone why Rizzo is continuing to hit in big RBI spots of the lineup. The Yankees are scrambling on offense with Aaron Judge on the shelf. But the No. 3 hole is not an ideal place for a slumping hitter.
Next up the Yankees will see a team in a familiar position, the crosstown rival, New York Mets. Much like Boone, Mets skipper Buck Showalter has recently made some strangely timed optimistic comments.
