Alex Cora Removes Andrew Benintendi From July 4 Lineup Amid Hitting Slump
By Sam Dunn
Something has happened to Andrew Benintendi's swing, and it seems to have come completely out of nowhere. As it stands, he's hitless in his last 12 at-bats, an equally odious and unlikely fact around Red Sox Nation. And in order to give him the time and space to get himself sorted, manager Alex Cora has decided to give him the hook on Independence Day.
Benintendi is out of Boston's lineup Thursday on the road against the Blue Jays.
Andrew Benintendi not in Boston Red Sox lineup to work on swing; ‘Hopefully he can see the results right away,' Alex Cora says https://t.co/cUog3encaL
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) July 4, 2019
"His hands are not firing the way they usually do," Cora said, per MassLive. "There’s a lot of swing-and-misses, a lot of chasing pitches up in the zone."
For the season, the outfielder is slashing .267/.347/.421, noticeably below what he put up last year during Boston's run to a World Series title. He's on pace for his career high in strikeouts and possibly his career low in walks.
Cora said Benintendi needs to be more ‘hitterish,’ Sox wanted him to have today off to work on his swing.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) July 4, 2019
If the Sox want to make another big run this season, it starts with getting Benintendi's confidence back at the plate.