NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Jackie Bradley Jr. homered for the second time in the last two days Sunday -- and third time this spring -- but is less concerned with his recent power spike and more focused on adjustments he's made to his swing.
"(Just trying) to make sure I take advantage of the pitches I should be taking advantage of,'' said Bradley after the Red Sox bashed the Atlanta Braves, 7-3. "That's the name of the game: timing. That's what spring training is basically about, and it's good to be on time.''
Bradley said he feels "great'' at the plate in general.
"Now it's time to take it into the season,'' he said. "I'm not missing the pitches I should be hitting. Obviously, you want to get a good pitch in the zone and ultimately, you want to do something with it. I'm just making sure I execute when the pitches I feel like I should be handling come to me. I have a different triggered mindset, so it's allowing things to free up and kind of go out there and be an athlete.''
"At the end, I think everything comes down to being on time,'' said Alex Cora of the improvement he's seeing with Bradley. "We get caught up on mechanics, launch angle and all these this stuff, but in the end, if you don't start on time, you're not going to see the ball. He's been doing a good job getting there on time. (In that regard) Jackie's been a lot better the last 10 days.
"He's still going to swing and miss; we know that. But it seems like he's recognizing pitches now. It's not that swing where he's missing pitches by a lot. It seems like he's right on pitches and he's catching up with the fastball, which is very important.''
With Atlanta shifting against him latter in the game, Bradley also attempted a bunt down the third base line. He was thrown out, but happy with the execution.
"I've been working on it,'' said Bradley. "You have to work on some things, and this kind of environment allows you do that without any faults. I feel good, feel confident about it.''
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After optioning Darwinzon Hernandez Saturday, the Red Sox plan to have him start the Worcester season opener in Jacksonville Tuesday.
"He'll go two or three innings,'' said Cora. "The goal is to have him work in between outings, and hasn't been able to do that in years. It wasn't a comfortable conversation (to send him down) because we know what he can do.. The goal is to get him to work between starts with (Worcester pitching coach Paul Abbott). We told him, 'We know you're a big leaguer. But to be the big leaguer we envision, we need you to find consistency. That's what he's missing. We can't have the up-and-down, where he dominates in Texas and then he struggles for a few weeks.
"We want him to pitch and then we want him to work. It's not about the results, it's about the work he's going to be putting in in between outings, which is the most important thing for us.''
Hernandez has struggled to find a consistent arm angle and iron out some mechanical issues.
"In the end, we want him to throw fastballs up and breaking balls down,'' said Cora. "And be consistent with it.''
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Cora acknowledged that a number of veteran relievers have been hit hard this spring, but believes most are trending in the right direction.
"It's not great right now,'' he acknowledged. "It doesn't look great. But I do believe they're going to be a better spot next week.''
With some video review, for instance, the Sox feel they might have uncovered why Matt Barnes' velocity has been down for most of the spring.
"It was something with his leg kick,'' Cora said. "Last year, he was a lot tighter with his delivery. Now, he's been kind of loose. Hopefully, that's what gets him going. If we can get his delivery worked out, he doesn't have to create. Right now, he's so off and tries to create velocity and it's not there.''
Ryan Brasier has seen a small uptick in fastball velocity the last few days. Meanwhile, the velocity is down on Jake Diekman's slider and needs work.
Finally, there's Hirokazu Sawamura, whom the Sox want to throw his split-finger fastball for strikes instead of featuring it as a chase pitch.
Derek Holland has agreed to accept his minor-league assignment to Worcester. He also has two more opt-outs ahead in the coming weeks and months.
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J.D. Martinez hasn't played much outfield in games this spring -- six innings to date; he'll get an opportunity either Monday or Tuesday -- but Cora isn't concerned.
"He's OK,'' said Cora. "What they've done throughout camp (getting work in) is good enough. I think it's more about his routine -- getting it down. Playing the outfield means less time in the cage and all of that. I think probably Sunday (in Yankee Stadium, in the third game of the season) he'll be out there.
Rafael Devers smoked a pitch an inch or two off the ground, driving it just inside the right field foul pole for his sixth homer of the spring. Devers said he has never golfed, but explained his success thusly: "I swing at everything.'' Only Kyle Higashioka (seven) had more homers in spring training as Sunday began...Alex Verdugo had two outfield assists, including one as part of a double play...Cora continues to be impressed by reliever John Schreiber, who allowed two runs in the eighth, the first runs he's allowed this spring. "He's making it tough for us,'' said Cora.