Pearce stuck in slump; 'You guys aren't blind'

BOSTON -- Last year's World Series MVP is currently lost at the plate, and he isn't trying to hide it.

"You guys aren't blind, you see what's going on," said Red Sox first baseman Steve Pearce. "There's really not much going good for me right now."

Pearce is doing the only thing he knows in situations like this -- trying to fight his way through it.

"I'm grinding and working my butt off trying to find my swing," Pearce said. "I just need one. I just need something good to happen, maybe something to build on."

Thus far, there has been nothing. In 39 at-bats, Pearce has a line of .103/.167/.128 with no homers and one RBI.

"Probably the worst time you can go through a slump or go through a funk is at the beginning of the season, when it gets magnified and there's no numbers to back it up," Pearce said. "You see a .100 batting average with no damage, no anything. It's part of the game. Trying to figure out how to get it back."

That type of slump would be tough to endure for any player at any time. But when it comes on the heels of being the MVP of the World Series, it is even harder.

"Yeah, you go from the pinnacle to this is probably the biggest slump I've had in my career," Pearce said. "It's a humbling game."

In one way, the glory of last October helps Pearce get through his current situation.

"When you experience something like that, that makes stuff like this worth grinding through, because if you can get to that place, it makes all of this worth it," Pearce said. "Keep showing up every day working and trying to be a good teammate, and when my number is called, I'll play. And when I'm not, I'll continue to work and cheer on my teammates."

There isn't one mechanical adjustment Pearce is trying to make. It's a combination.

"Trying a little bit of everything. It's a feel thing. If there's something I can bring to the plate after a good cage or BP session and bring that to the game," Pearce said. "I've been here every day. I get here at 1 o'clock and I do my treatments, and I get straight to work. I'm busting my butt. It's not like I'm showing up here at 6:15 or something like that. I'm here, and I'm just as frustrated as fans are or anybody else. I want to win and I want to be able to help this team."

Holt has shoulder impingement
After Brock Holt returned from a Minor League rehab assignment for the second time in the past couple of weeks, he was diagnosed with an impingement in his right shoulder on Tuesday.

In other words, Holt won't be playing baseball for a while.

"We're going to shut him down," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "He's going to get treatment. It's not a great scenario because we want him to play, but he feels like it's not going to take that long. So he'll get treatment and all that, and hopefully he can get back sooner rather than later."