Hale not concerned about Goldy's power struggles
First baseman has just 1 HR since All-Star break
CINCINNATI -- D-backs first baseman and MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt is in the midst of a power struggle but manager Chip Hale isn't worried.
Goldschmidt has homered just once in his last 118 at-bats after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Friday's 6-3 win over the Reds. He ranked fifth in the National League with 21 home runs before the All-Star Break, but had only one since then with it coming on July 27 against the Mariners.
"Obviously he's gone through a couple of different scuffle times, struggles. Those pitches that you can hit out are few and far between in the big leagues and he's just missing those pitches right now," Hale said. "Mechanically, he's worked on a few things with [D-backs hitting coach] Turner [Ward] the last couple of days. He feels a little better today, but have I noticed anything [different about him]? Not really."
"He gives such competitive at-bats and battles. A lot of home run hitters, a lot of guys when they do hit their home runs will hit them in bunches so he might get none for a month and maybe hits five or six in a week."
Goldschmidt has also struggled in general during his last five games, hitting only .080 (2-for-25). He has gone 0-for-9 through the first two games of the four-game series in Cincinnati.
The recent lack of homers for Goldschmidt could suggest he's battling some type of injury, but Hale said that isn't the case. Hale said Goldschmidt would notify him if there was something bothering him and after a conversation between the two Thursday night he is confident Goldschmidt is at his full ability.
"No, I talked to him about that last night," Hale said when asked if anything was physically bothering Goldschmidt. "He physically feels good. He's really good at taking care of his body. We talk to them a bunch about that stuff."
Hale added that these types of slumps come with the game of baseball and isn't worried about his current home run drought.
"His approach is good," Hale said. "I think if you ask him he'll tell you he's disappointed with his production right now but it's hard to be that good for 162 games."