Yonder Alonso's average up, but doubles down

DENVER -- Since returning from the disabled list in July, Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso was hitting .315 in 89 at-bats entering Monday. Twenty-six of 28 hits during that time were singles.

Alonso missed 34 games with a fractured bone in his right hand, which put the brakes on a fast start that saw him hit .284 with seven doubles and six home runs.

Although Alonso's average was up in the month since he came back from the hand injury, he had just two extra-base hits in those 89 at-bats, both doubles.
Not that he has noticed much.

"I don't really worry about that," Alonso said before Monday's game against the Rockies. "My season is going to be what my season is going to be.

"My goal is to get on base and drive guys in. As long as I have good at-bats, that's the way it goes. My goal would be to drive in more [runs], but sometimes you can't think about the numbers. I'm hitting balls hard."

Alonso had two hits Sunday against the Reds and had a .353 average in his last 13 games. Over his 21 games since the All-Star break, he was hitting .350, which is the 14th-best mark in the league over that stretch.

A year ago, Alonso finished tied for eighth in the league with 39 doubles. This season, he had nine over 279 at-bats entering Monday. He was hitting .294, up from the .273 overall mark he had in 2012.

"I think guys are pitching me a lot different, too, not giving in as much as they were earlier in the year," Alonso said. "But I think that for me, it's using the whole field and go from there. If I do that, I'll be fine."


(mlb.com)