Facing Corey Kluber for the third time in Wednesday’s Orioles-Yankees game, Ryan Mountcastle had an at-bat that showed Orioles hitting coach Don Long that the rookie had what it takes to pull himself out of his early-season slump.
Mountcastle swung through a first-pitch, low-and-away curveball on the first pitch of the at-bat after doing his traditional leg kick, Long said, and “immediately recognized that.” He recognized what was wrong, ditched the leg kick, and eventually hit the same pitch with two strikes for a single.
“He did that on his own, in the box during the course of the game, rather than just letting the whole at-bat get away from him in the moment,” Long said.