Yonder Alonso benefiting from not using break to rest

MILWAUKEE -- Yonder Alonso missed 34 games with a broken bone in his right hand, returning to play three games before the All-Star break.

At that point, the Padres first baseman was faced with a choice: Fly back to his hometown of Miami to see friends and family, or stay in San Diego with hopes of finding the swing that served him well before the injury.

In the end, Alonso remained in San Diego, working out daily during the All-Star break while many of his teammates were getting a little rest and relaxation before the second half.

"For me, it was about getting a lot of repetitions with my swing, which is why I didn't go home," Alonso said. "It was hard to miss a month and a week. But I worked every day on my swing.

"The way I looked at it, I owe that much to my teammates."

Alonso said working on his swing during the break allowed him to come out swinging a hot bat in the second half. He reached base four times on Tuesday and -- in a small sample size -- had a .381 average and a .458 on-base percentage in the first six games of the second half.

"I'm making progress right now, and I feel we're heading in the right direction," Alonso said of his swing.

Alonso was hitting .284 with six home runs and 29 RBIs in 190 at-bats before he suffered a break on top of his hand when he was hit by a pitch by Aaron Loup of the Blue Jays on May 31.


(mlb.com)