Boston Red Sox designated hitter and infielder Justin Turner has been on a tear of late.
The 38-year-old reflected on what he’s done differently at the plate amid his recent surge ahead of Monday’s game.
“I think there’s obviously a lot of variables and a lot of aspects to hitting,” Turner told The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams. “But you have to make sure your timing is right. I think, nowadays, with so many hitting coaches and swing coaches and swing gadgets, everyone’s so fast to overhaul or change things or use these gadgets, because they think their swing isn’t working.
“When the reality is most of the time you’re just late. And your swing is fine but your timing is not. So I think that is probably kind of a big issue in the game right now, (players) creating dependency on outside hitting people and all these drills and gimmicks to trick you into thinking you need all this stuff to be successful.”
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With Rafael Devers having the night off Monday, Turner slid over to third base. He contributed a double, a run and two RBIs in Boston’s 7-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium.
The double pushed Turner’s hit streak to 13 games, over which span he batted 20-for-49 (.408) and increased his average from .271 to .290.
Turner heads into the middle game of Boston’s three-game series with the A’s on Tuesday looking to increase his streak to 14 games. First pitch is set for 9:40 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game along with an hour of pregame on NESN.