The Kansas City Royals haven't enjoyed the month of May very much at all. Their left fielder, on the other hand, is another story.
The Royals did enter May in first-place, atop the American League Central with a 16-9 record. During that span, newcomer Andrew Benintendi wasn't exactly a key piece of the puzzle, struggling mightily throughout April with a .225 batting average and .624 OPS.
The month, however, Benintendi has become one of the American League's hottest hitters while KC finds itself licking its wounds from an 11-game losing streak. The former Red Sox carries a .356 batting average and .844 OPS for the month. It is the third-highest May batting average for any qualified American League hitter, trailing only Toronto's Marcus Semien and Benintendi's former teammate, Xander Bogaerts.
Speaking on MLB Network Radio, Kansas City manager Mike Matheny offered his analysis of Benintendi's progression.
"I think he came in with the desire to get back to become the hitter he knew he could be," Matheny said. "We talked about this early on, this fine line of always trying to be better so you're always thinking outside the box. OK, what's the game telling me. Take the information, the data. OK, how am I being evaluated. Sometimes it sends guys in a good direction, other times it takes them away from their strengths. I believe Andrew was trying to be somebody that he wasn't, and that was get up and try and yank everything and try and have more pull power when he uses the field so well. I think Kauffman Stadium has really played well for him. The fact that there are big gaps. There is a lot of space to drive the ball the other way. And he's still pulling the ball when he needs to and he's kind of found that middle ground. He's in a nice place. He's very confident."
Coming into Sunday, Benintendi had back-to-back multi-hit games, reaching base three times Saturday.