Since struggling mightily in the month of April (.147/.194/.176 — albeit in limited playing time), Grady seems to have heated up along with the weather. With a line of .368/.415/.421 in May so far, his numbers have quite improved, landing at .264/.312/.306 as of May 18th.
While the power doesn’t seem to be there (yet), it’s good news to see him swinging a hot bat this month. Is it the weather, the increased playing time, or just that he was in a slump the entire month of April? Will the power ever return? Those answers remain to be seen, but we’re enjoying this little hot streak while it lasts.
For their part, Grady and Philly manager Ryne Sandberg think it’s the more consistent AB’s that are helping:
“It felt good to have some good swings and get the win,” Sizemore said. “I felt like I didn’t have a lot of at-bats or a lot of consistent at-bats, so I try to just do what you can to stay sharp and relax up there and keep grinding it out.”
“Grady just seems to be clicking right now,” Sandberg said. “He gave us some real good pinch-hits, he got some hits and I think that got him rolling. Now with some starts, he seems to be in a groove. He’s just seeing the ball real good, squaring it up.”
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The Phils begin a long 10-game road trip, during which they’ll face the Nationals and Mets, following the 3-game set with the Rockies in Denver that begins tonight.
