Slumping Salty continues to adjust to NL pitching

MIAMI -- Good months happen, and so do poor ones for everyday players.

Miami catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia finds himself struggling through a rough May, in which he's hitting .184 (14-for-76) with one home run and eight RBIs entering Saturday.

The rough patch came after he batted .301 with six doubles, five homers and nine RBIs in April.

Overall, the switch-hitting catcher is batting .242 with six homers and 17 RBIs.

"It happens," Saltalamacchia said. "I've had this where I've gone a month, I've gone a second half like this. The biggest thing for me right now is just trying to get familiar with the other team and how they want to pitch me -- the shifts and stuff."

When Saltalamacchia played for the Red Sox, he was used to being shifted when he batted from the left side. What he is still familiarizing himself with is the pitching in the National League. Teams have adjusted to Saltalamacchia, and he is in the progress of doing the same to the opposition.

"The pitching is a little different, so I have to get familiar with that," he said. "My main concern, and what I've put a lot of energy in, is our staff. We've been winning. That's all that matters."

While in Boston, the catcher could aim for a shot off the Green Monster in left field to collect a hit from time to time.

"I don't have the left-field wall to just pepper off of," he said. "I have some changes to make."