Betts finally finds himself at the plate as postseason approaches

It’s taken more than five months of the regular season, but maybe, just maybe, Mookie Betts is finally locked in at the plate.

That certainly looked to be the case Tuesday night in the Red Sox’ 11-1 romp over the Oakland A’s. Betts smoked a two-run triple in the second, then went on to add two, two-run homers. In the last six games, Betts is 9-for-25 with three homers and nine RBI.

In short, in the last week, Betts has more closely resembled the player he was a year ago when he finished second in the A.L. MVP voting.

“Tonight,’’ said John Farrell, “was kind of a snapshot of what we’ve seen from him the last couple of years, more consistently.’’

It seems a safe bet Betts may have spent too much of this year trying to do too much. With the retirement of David Ortiz, Betts likely felt he had to become the linchpin of the Red Sox offense. But by working and trying too hard, Betts actually did himself a disservice.

In the last week, he’s looked more relaxed, confident enough in his ability to let it take over. And it has.

“The bat speed has always been there,’’ offered Farrell. “I just think he’s putting himself in a better spot.’’

Betts has made some small adjustments at the plate. He’s a bit more upright at the plate, which allows him to stay back a bit and let the ball travel to him. His hands are quick enough to get to any pitch he chooses, and with a more upright approach, he’s successfully staying above the ball and leveling his swing.

But the biggest change may be a mental one.

“I think he’s in a good place,’’ said hitting instructor Chili Davis. “He’s actually started to minimize the amount of work he’s putting in (pre-game) and it’s working out. He’s just feeling much better about himself. For him, the less he thinks about mechanics, the better hitter he is. He’s just reading the ball, he’s ready to fire, ready to hit his pitch at the plate and not worry so much about what a pitcher is trying to do.''

By doing less – work before the game, thinking at the plate – he’s actually accomplishing more.

Davis said it’s in Betts’ makeup to expect a lot from himself, and that may have been heightened by Ortiz’s departure.

“He feels that the team relies on him,’’ Davis said, “to be who he is, to the player he is and he takes that on himself. ‘’

To his credit, however, Betts hasn’t let his occasional struggles at the plate affect the rest of his game. He leads all of baseball in defensive runs saved and he remains, by far, the team’s best baserunner. Those parts of his game never disappeared.

With his first homer Tuesday – a bullet that hit one of the signs on top of the Monster Seats, then kept traveling out of the ballpark – Betts became the first player in Red Sox history to hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in consecutive seasons. That’s an indication of his raw talent.

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And with less than three weeks remaining in the season, his offensive awakening could not be coming at a better time. The Red Sox need him as a middle-of-the-order force is they’re to overcome their offensive inconsistencies.

It’s telling that the team is 15-3 when he homers. If it’s an oversimplification to suggest that as Betts goes, so go the Red Sox, it’s isn’t far off, either.

In the final weeks of the season, with the Red Sox looking to wrap up the division and carry some momentum into October, a red-hot Betts would be most welcome.

“I think this is the most consistent I’ve been,’’ said Betts of his recent stretch. “I’m not exactly sure (why it’s happening now); that’s the weird part. It could be just the game of baseball.’’

Betts has the talent to make the game look easy at times. Now that he’s not pressing as much, his skill is taking over.

‘’He’s harder on himself than anybody is ever going to be on him,’’ said Davis,  “so it’s good when you hear him say, ‘I like the way I feel….this is the best I’ve felt in a while.’ It shows. When he goes out and feels good about the way he’s swinging, he’s going to hit.’’