There was one swing in particular that let manager Rocco Baldelli know Miguel Sano is in a groove right now at the plate. It wasn't the home run Sano hit in Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Brewers or the two-run double he hit in Saturday's win.
Instead, it was a line drive out Sano hit to right in the second inning Saturday.
"Watching it, you go, 'He's in a good place, that's a good swing,' " Baldelli said. "If he's going to see the ball like that, let it travel, and put those kind of swings on the ball, he's going to catch some of the off-speed pitches out front, he's going to still be on the fastball."
Sano took a curveball from Brewers starter Aaron Ashby and hit it 420 feet Sunday to continue his good vibes at the plate. In his past 17 games, including Sunday's 2-for-4 effort, Sano is hitting .295 with a 1.033 on-base plus slugging percentage and six home runs.
Right now, Sano's swing is on the right side of the constant battle to use every part of the field at the plate.
"There are different reasons why there are ups and downs. First of all, baseball is hard and he's a guy that swings such a big, potent bat," Baldelli said.
For now, Sano has been letting pitches come to him more at the plate, and that flyout Saturday foreshadowed Saturday's double and then Sunday's home run in that way. How long will Sano keep that up?
"If he's going to see the ball like that, let it travel, and put those kind of swings on the ball, he's going to catch some of the offspeed pitches out front, he's going to still be on the fastball," Baldelli said. "He doesn't have to swing as hard as he can. Unlike most people in this game, he does not have to swing as hard as he can to hit the ball out of the ballpark to all fields."
