This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. 

When Reds manager David Bell gave struggling center fielder Nick Senzel a day off last Wednesday against the Dodgers, it was not meant to be a rest day. It was a workday behind the scenes, as Bell hoped Senzel would take extra swings in the cages and really dive into fixing things.

“I think it was a good day for me to reset and just get a good workday in and reset my mind. I got a little refresh to work on some things,” Senzel said Tuesday in the visitor’s clubhouse at Wrigley Field.

Senzel was popping out to the opposite field and hitting grounders to his pull side. Often, he stood farther back in the batter’s box, exposing himself to strikes on the outside corner. The day out of the lineup seemed to work. Senzel went 9-for-16 in the next five games -- including 6-for-9 in the three-game series vs. the Giants.

Senzel’s overall batting average has jumped from .204 to .238.

“I am always working on making adjustments that are necessary to put myself in the best position to be consistent,” Senzel said. “It’s always a work in progress, and I will keep working and working and working. You never get to the end. You continue to work and improve. You go through failure and success. You try to keep your mind strong, and you keep working at it.”

Bell downplayed the day off as a reason Senzel found a groove. However, Bell has given strategic days off in the past that have helped other hitters.

“You never know if he would have figured it out anyway. Maybe the off day had nothing to do with it,” Bell said. “There’s no way to prove it. But there are definitely times when just taking a step back -- yes, I wanted to create space for him in his day where he could exhaust himself if he needed to get a feel for his hitting -- but also, sometimes, just sitting there watching a game can slow things down.

“Everything moves fast, maybe, when you’re struggling and trying to figure it out on the fly. But when you can take a step back and watch the game, it gives you perspective. I think maybe the combination of those things helped him.”

One of the fastest players in the Reds lineup, Senzel also recorded three steals in his first three games after the day off to give him five overall. Certainly, getting on base more often helps, but he wants to make it a bigger part of his game.

“It’s something I’ve had to reflect on, and it’s, ‘What can I do to help this team win?’ That’s run the bases, stealing bases and scoring runs,” Senzel said. “I’m trying to add that to my skill set. Obviously, I was able to show those things in San Francisco.”