SEATTLE – It was a swing Oswaldo Arcia hopes to repeat frequently the rest of the season.
With runners on first and second Sunday, Arcia recognized David Robertson's slider and was able to lift it over the infield and into right field for an RBI single.
"I was thinking, 'maybe no fastball,' " Arcia said. "I was ready for the slider and he threw the slider."
Arcia didn't overswing, taking a nice smooth cut that produced results. If he is going to climb out of the hole he is in right now, he is going to have to take better at-bats, like he did on his ninth-inning RBI single in the Twins' 9-7 loss to the Yankees on Sunday.
Don't be mistaken, the burly Arcia can hit baseballs a long way. But the 23-year-old is trying to repair his season, so he is cutting down on the murderous swings for now.
He needed to. He was 2-for-4 Sunday, his first multi-hit game since June 11. And he added two more hits Monday, going 2-for-3 with a double in the Twins' 2-0 loss to the Mariners. But in the 19 games between June 11 and Sunday, he batted .127 with one home run and four RBI, and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire sat him down a few games, worried that his young hitter was getting too frustrated.
"You can work as hard as you want to, but you're still going to be frustrated if you don't see any results," Gardenhire said. "We need his confidence to rising and get some hit. To put a couple balls on the grass in the outfield is huge. It shows his hard work is starting to pay off."
Arcia was one of a handful of players on the field before Monday night's game against Seattle for extra batting practice. He has been working with hitting coach Tom Brunansky to hold his hands higher, the belief being that it will help him get the bat head out with a more level swing than he had during his slump.
