August 18, 2022
CHICAGO — The way Alex Bregman swung the bat last month reignited thinking about the 2019 season when Bregman spearheaded the American Pro One of the best offenses in Major League Baseball history and is associated with winning the American League MVP award.
2020 caused his hamstring injury and 21 years of quads and wrists Bad habits in his mechanics, which Bregman worked tirelessly to correct. He’s still not where he wants to be, but a healthy Bregman continued his second-half surge with 4 points, 2 doubles, 2 homers and a career-high 6 in the Astros’ 21-5 run 4-for-6 with RBI to revive the White Sox on a guaranteed rate Thursday.
“I know everyone always says 2018 or 2019, but I Think every year is different, and I’m definitely trying to get back to the mechanics of my two years,” he said. “The first two, mechanically, I’m not the same. My front hip is wide open and it allows me to spin and cut the baseball rather than stay in it and be able to drive it. We’ve been working hard this year and a lot of people have helped me in Working in a cage. The performance has been more consistent over the past few months, which is good.”
Bregman and outfielder Chas McCormick (3-for-6, 5 RBI) played a combined 11 games as the Astros tied the club record with 25 hits. The 21 points are tied for second in club history, trailing the 23 they scored against the Orioles on August 10, 2019. It was also the only time the Astros had 25 hits in a game.
“You have to find, and I didn’t,” White Sox starter Lucas Giolito said. “A lot of fastballs trying to get in and miss the middle, that sort of thing — they didn’t miss. A lot of runs were given up.”
Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker and catcher Christian Vazquez both went 4 for 6, Joined Bregman’s four-hit club.
“We made a statement. We made an outrageous statement, “We had a good offense. They were a good team. They beat us the first two times and it was a little bit frustrating. We had a good win [Wednesday], coming in today, we wanted to make sure we Didn’t lose the series. We played well and it showed how our offense was today.”
This is how hot Bregman has been recently:
since July 21 (27 games): .343/ .404/.667, 7 bens Bases, 26 RBIs, 11 walks, 11 strikeouts
Since Aug. 2 (16 games) : 0.397/.471/.776, 5 bets Bases, 17 RBIs, 9 walks, 5 strikeouts
Since Aug. 9 (10 games) : .432/.512/1.000, 5 homers , 16 RBIs, 6 walks, 2 strikeouts
Last year, Bray Gehman was not on the field. He missed 58 games with a limb injury and hit 0.777 OPS with 12 homers and 55 RBIs in 91 games. He underwent offseason surgery on his right wrist, which also affected him.
“In the past few years, mechanically, I haven’t been to my want to go,” he said. “Today was so much better. Today was a very good day for the executive mechanics and our team did a really good job of putting together great hitters.”
After Bregman struck out 3-2 below the strike zone in the first inning — which led to batting coach Alex Cintron fouled out — Bregman was followed by two doubles in the third inning, a two-run homer in the fourth and a two-run homer in the sixth. He pitched the final inning in the ninth inning by White Sox second baseman Josh Harrison.
“I won’t say anything because I don’t want to be fined,” Breg Mann said of the call. “I’m absolutely proud of my swing on strikes and catches. I think I did a good job today.”
Astros manager Dusty Baker said: “I can’t tell you what I’m talking about. My mom wouldn’t like it. We all think it’s low.”
Bregman heading into August with a .242 batting average, but he’s now hitting 18 home runs in 115 games hit, 72 RBIs and 0.839 OPS for a 0.264. The 2019 Bregman appears to be back.
“When Bregman left, oh man, he was hot It’s been a while,” McCormick said. “I’m happy for him. He’s doing well, he’s locked in every day. He’s healthy and playing every day. We need him on the floor every night because he’s a very impactful player.”
