Maybe a week on the road — and away from Yankee Stadium — will help get Anthony Volpe out of his funk.
As part of another hitless day for the slumping shortstop, Volpe was booed after he struck out to end the Yankees’ nine-run third inning in an 11-2 win over the Nationals on Wednesday.
He hasn’t had a hit — or even reached base — in 25 straight plate appearances.
“We’re all humans,’’ Aaron Judge said of how Volpe is handling the situation. “It’s about how you use it. Are you gonna use it to crumble and in a negative way or just tell yourself you’ve got to play better? You have to use it as motivation.”
The latest rough day at the plate was the second in a row since Volpe was held out of the lineup for two straight games Sunday and Monday in an effort to reset.
He responded with a 106-mph shot to the warning track in center on Tuesday and a 103-mph lineout to third base in his first at-bat Wednesday.
Mixed in, though, have been three strikeouts, as well as some solid plays at short.
His average is down to .206 and his OPS a season-low .662.
Aaron Boone said he believes Volpe hasn’t been getting himself in as good a hitting position on his swing as he typically does, but again praised his defense in the midst of his offensive woes.
On Wednesday, after his lineout to end the first, Volpe hit a soft line drive for the first out in the third, struck out to end the inning, grounded to short to finish the fifth and struck out again in the eighth after being buzzed by a 95 mph sinker from Jackson Rutledge.
Giancarlo Stanton, who knows about being caught up in slumps and hearing it from the crowd, said getting out of it is “all about a mindset.”
“The most frustrating part of when I’ve gone through tough times is the mental part,’’ Stanton said. “You think about it from when you wake up to when you go to sleep. And that gets detrimental, too. You have to simplify everything.”
Volpe has been part of a bottom of the Yankee lineup that’s seen Austin Wells and newcomer Ryan McMahon struggle as well.
Fortunately for the Yankees, the rest of the offense has helped make up for it.
“The biggest thing is to not make more of it than it is,’’ Judge said. “You’ve still got a job to do on the field. The rest is really just noise and you can’t focus on the noise or you’ll get consumed by it.”
And four games playing against the last-place White Sox in Chicago should take some of the spotlight off Volpe.
“He’s handling it as well as you can,’’ Stanton said. “He works as hard as anyone. We’re all supporting him.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
