Notes: Bregman rests; work pays off for Enoli

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A day off typically doesn’t sit well with Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, who would rather play every day he possibly can. Still, manager Dusty Baker, sensing Bregman was scuffling at the plate, kept Bregman out of the lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Blue Jays in what he called a “mental day.”

Bregman entered Friday slashing .244/.381/.337 with one homer in his last 22 games. He had a 20-game on-base streak snapped Thursday, but he had nearly as many walks (18) as he had hits (21) in that stretch. He’s not driving the ball the way we’re accustomed to seeing.

“I’m swinging it terrible. No doubt about it,” he said. “High on-base percentage, but not driving the ball like I should be. It’s mechanical. It’s been a mechanical adjustment that I need to make for two years. The last two years, I haven’t been using my hands the way I want to use my hands. Normally, if I‘m off my timing, I’m able to stay through the baseball because I have a great hand path. Right now, my hand path has faltered a little bit. I’m not hitting fastballs like I should, and I’m going to fix it.”

Bregman has a .434 slugging percentage with a 12.8 whiff rate against fastballs in 2021, compared to a .516 slugging percentage and 6.8 percent whiff rate last year. He slugged .593 on fastballs in 2019, when he finished a close second to Mike Trout in the race for the American League Most Valuable Player Award.

“I’ve been working on it for the last year and a half,” he said. “I don’t know when I got away from it, but I’ve been looking at a lot of video of 2018, 2019 and even back in my time in the Minor Leagues. I've been looking at video, just kind of how my hands worked. I’m going to address it and fix it and finish super strong this year.”

Bregman says he’s been late on the fastball when he usually squares them up. His average exit velocity this year is in the 27th percentile in the Major Leagues, compared to 52 percent last year and 53 percent in 2019.

“Right now, I can hit the ball hard on the ground to right field or on a line to right field all the time,” he said. “When I’m right, I’m driving the ball in the air to the pull side, and I’m not doing that right now. It will come.”

Adjustments pay off for Paredes

Right-handed reliever Enoli Paredes, who was one of last year’s surprising storylines for the Astros during the 60-game season, said some of the adjustments he’s made in the last week with pitching coach Brent Strom have allowed him to improve his command, which has been shaky.

“I just put my mind in the game,” he said. “I have been watching video. I put my mind to go out there and work and be back soon and help the team, because I know I have the stuff to be here. I was in a little trouble with my control, but everything is fine. They know why they sent me there. That was maybe good for me. We are back and I’m giving 100 percent to help the team.”

Paredes was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land about a week ago but missed only one game in Houston before he was called back up out of necessity. He struck out the side on 18 pitches in a blowout win over the Red Sox on Monday and threw a scoreless inning Thursday, allowing one walk.

Paredes has a 5.68 ERA and 2.84 WHIP in his first nine games, with 12 walks allowed in 6 1/3 innings. The adjustments, he said, involve his placement on the pitching rubber and how he uses his torso.

“I’m working with Strommy every day,” he said. “I’m focusing on the change and I’m getting success. The last two outings were good. I struck out the side [Monday]. We’re headed in the right way, so keep working on my direction to home plate and we’re going to be good.”

Worth noting

• Right-hander Francis Martes has been assigned to Triple-A Sugar Land in preparation for activation from suspension. Martes, the team’s former top pitching prospect, missed parts of the 2018-19 seasons due to Tommy John surgery and missed the 2020 campaign due to a suspension. He is eligible to be reinstated on June 19.