Go back to a meaningless stretch of spring training games to understand what you're getting in Bobby Dalbec.
Six straight at-bats Dalbec struck out. Then came a frozen rope groundout to shortstop. That was all it took. The next at-bat? A grand slam.
As bad as it might seem when it comes to Dalbec, be sure to have some patience. That was a reality that emerged once again in the Red Sox' 4-2 win over the Twins Tuesday afternoon.
Heading into the snowy day at Target Field, Dalbec was one of the few hitters among Alex Cora's group who hadn't figured it out. He was just 3-for-25 to begin the season with 10 strikeouts and just one extra-base hit.
Dalbec's first at-bat this time around made it 3-for-26, with the first baseman lining an 88 mph sinker from J.A. Happ the other way for a third-inning out. But there was something about that swing -- coming off the righty hitter's bat at 107 mph -- that offered optimism.
First it resulted in a congratulatory fist-bump from Cora. And, two innings later, the swing paved the way for Dalbec's path of production.
“I’ve always been kind of a slow starter," Dalbec said. "I hate to say it but that’s just kind of the way it is. Obviously I’d like to work that out in the future but once I get more comfortable and settled at the beginning of the season, I start to get in a good spot. Hopefully this continues right now.”
In his second at-bat against Happ, Dalbec put a similar swing on a familiar fastball. This time it manifested itself in a game-tying, RBI double, scoring Christian Arroyo.
He was on his way.
In the eighth inning Dalbec duplicated his swings and fifth-inning result, giving the Red Sox the lead for good by once again plating Arroyo.
"I think the at-bats in Baltimore started him," Cora noted. "He hit the ball hard. Today he stays on a pitch and drives it the other way against a tough lefty. I've seen Happ since he got called up in 2009. He's just so tough. There's one day he goes with four-seamers and then with two-seamers. Today he had something down and away. I looked like a changeup but it was a sinker. You have to stay with him throughout the game and we did that. We put good at-bats. We hit the ball hard the whole day. That's a good sign. Tough conditions. Tough pitcher on the mind. But we grinded it out and we ended up with a win.
"Like everybody else, if you control the strike zone and you control your aggression in the strike zone you're going to see results. We trust the player. We trust him. We know there is going to be a few days where he might swing and miss a lot, but we do believe he can make adjustments and he can go the other way. That's the most important thing with him. He drives the ball to right-center. Today he stayed with his plan, he was very disciplined and you saw the results."
There were other standouts in helping hand the Red Sox' their seventh straight win ...
- Arroyo played an absolutely sterling game in the field at second base while coming away with two hits out of the No. 8 spot.
- Hunter Renfroe did his part to help the bottom third of the batting order, getting the Red Sox on the board with a solo shot through the snowflakes in the fifth after the visitors had initially fallen behind 2-0.
- Rafael Devers helped ice things with his 404-foot blast to right field, giving him four home runs in as many games.
- After an uncomfortable first inning in which starter Martin Perez allowed a pair of runs, the Red Sox' pitchers were nails against the hot-hitting Twins. Perez (5 IP, 2 runs) was followed by relievers Hirokazu Sawamura, Adam Ottavino, Darwinzon Herandez and Matt Barnes, who teamed to supply four shutout innings that included just one Minnesota hit.
But it was Dalbec's day that might have been the most encouraging. It checked off another box for a team that is running out of questions to answer.
"One thing for sure, we had a lot of new people here right? But I think the guys that were here last year, it wasn’t fun for them," Cora said. "They put in the work to keep getting better and keep winning ballgames. It’s a testament to them. Last year it was tough to watch, it was tough for them that were here. Now that it’s still early but they can see the talent we have, and what we are doing, it’s fun for them again. Baseball is fun again."
