Slow start nothing new for Gyorko

MIAMI -- Jedd Gyorko might have been frustrated and flustered when he started the season hitless in his first 11 at-bats, but he wasn't altogether surprised.

"Throughout my professional career this has happened before," Gyorko said. "It's something that I am trying to break. I've been a slow starter. It's kind of a pattern I've developed. It isn't something I look forward to, but at the same time, I know it's a long season with plenty of time left."

After making an out in his first at-bat in Friday's loss to the Marlins, Gyorko had his first two hits of the season, including a sixth-inning RBI single -- his first RBI of the young season.

Before that, Gyorko was 0-for-11 with six strikeouts.

"I've had some bad at-bats," he said. "I was able to get a couple of walks in there, but those strikeouts weren't good."

Last April, Gyorko's first full month in the big leagues, he hit .247. He then hit .303 in May followed by a .325 clip in June. In 2011, the season he hit a combined .333/.400/.552 between Class A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio, he struggled early.

"I think I started that year 0-for-12," Gyorko said.

In the 2012 season, when he hit a combined 30 home runs and drove in 111 runs between San Antonio and Triple-A Tucson, Gyorko also started slow.

He admitted Saturday that he's much better equipped to handle offensive struggles now than when he was in the Minor Leagues.

"The older you get, you realize how long of a season it is and you have to keep going and keep building," Gyorko said.