Eleven days into the month of May, Chris Johnson has started to find his groove.
After hitting .231 in April, the Braves third baseman has looked a lot more like the hitter who came 10 points shy of the National League batting title last year.
He’s raised that average 48 points in the first week and a half of May, to .279, while going 15-for-36 (.417).
Johnson is an aggressive hitter by nature, but he thinks he got too aggressive to start the season.
“The reason I was going so good last year is I was able to be a little bit more patient and wait for my pitch,” Johnson said. “And early in the year I was trying to force it I think a little too much, rather than just take what the pitcher was giving me. I think I’m getting back to that right now.”
Johnson has had six multi-hit games in 10 this month. He had four in April.
He’s made the most of his hits too. Johnson drove in the winning run in a 2-1 win over the Cardinals Tuesday night to help halt the Braves seven-game losing streak. He drove in two runs on a base hit Friday night, which would have been good for the go-ahead runs, if not for a Craig Kimbrel blown save. And he started the two-run rally in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 2-0 win over the Cubs with a bloop single.
“I feel like the swing is coming along a little better,” Johnson said. “I feel like it’s coming on. I’m starting to get back into those at-bats and we’re only 100 at-bats in, so you can build on a slow start and work your way up. I think we’re doing that as a team right now.”
