Yuni can barely rub two hits together

Yuniesky Betancourt’s on a bit of a doubles binge. He drove in Jeff Clement with a double yesterday (video here) and has three doubles this week. In the same stretch of time (since May 7), he only has three singles. So, while he’s having no trouble getting two-base hits, he’s awful at getting two base hits in a game.
Yuni has 8 multi-hit games this season with just one in May, during Sunday’s 6-3 win over the White Sox. In fact, the M’s do remarkably well when Yuni gets just two hits.

Mariners when Yuni’s hitless: 2-13
Mariners when Yuni get 1 hit: 9-9
Mariners when Yuni gets 2 hits: 5-1
Mariners when Yuni gets 3 hits: 0-1
Mariners when Yuni gets 4 hits: 0-1
Mariners when Yuni doubles: 6-3
Mariners when Yuni triples: 1-0
Mariners when Yuni homers: 0-1
Mariners when Yuni walks: 1-2

There are several conclusions to draw from this tiny data set. Yuni’s not likely to get more than one hit in a game. Too bad the Mariners aren’t likely to win unless he does. This all makes sense–teams are more likely to win when they hit the dang ball. Plus, Ichiro, who usually bats after Yuni, hits better with runners on base. The sight of Yuni on the base paths must warm his heart and his bat. Surprisingly, Ichiro hits a tad worse with runners on just first base, which explains the M’s losing record when Yuni walks (only it doesn’t). Yuni’s hits aren’t that much more likely to come in the middle of rallies, though–his batting average is 6 points higher (though his OPS is identical) with runners in scoring position, and only 16 points higher with runners on at all. It might all boil down to Yuni and all his teammates only being able to hit bad pitching.  That would explain why he and the team bunch their hits together infrequently.
As I was typing up this post, I saw a comment left by “andrewwinner” on the mission statement: “I send text messages every time Yuni hits a double that say “Yuni Doubles”. I went way over on my phone bill last month but I didn’t care.”
It’s been an expensive week for you, Andre.  I hope you’re happy.

Advertisements