Prior to the Detroit Tigers’ series opening against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Friday, the team arrived in Phoenix on Wednesday night. This allowed all team members, including coaches and staff, to have a full day off from work.
“I’m rested,” Báez declared. “That’s really important here with the time change.”
Báez’s off-day approach, which involved getting more sleep and playing less, paid off when he took the field on Friday. In the first game of the series, he led the Tigers to a 13-0 victory over the Diamondbacks by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and five runs driven in. It was undoubtedly his finest game of the year and might have been his best game ever as a Tiger.
Báez hasn’t scored more than one run in a game since the previous season. He is currently making $98 million in the remaining four years of a six-year, $140 million contract. That season, when he tied for the National League MVP award, was the last time he had recorded five RBIs in a single game.
Báez stated, “I was just trying to see the ball.” “I’m still refining my timing. My goals are to time everything perfectly, spot the ball, and respond to it as it enters the zone. I chased up a few fastballs, but when I got on one, I made decent contact.”
Former two-time All-Star shortstop Báez is currently batting.185 with 28 strikeouts, five walks, and one home run in the field
Despite Báez being the worst hitter in baseball this season, manager A.J. Hinch gave Báez a vote of confidence at the start of the week when he said his shortstop will continue to play every day in an effort to find answers.
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Before Monday’s game, Hinch stated of Báez, “He’s going to play, a lot.” “We must look for a means to extract more information from him. No at-bats will not be the solution offensively. He needs to continue honing his timing and rhythm in the hopes of being able to produce offensively. That is the objective.
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