Carl Crawford

Carl Crawford showed up before Friday’s game ready to turn things around.

The outfielder was hitting just .136 against left-handed pitching, totaling a .198 on-base percentage while claiming just five extra-base hits. They were numbers that punctuated his latest round of frustrations.

“He was frustrated,” said Red Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan. “He’s never lit the world on fire against lefties (.261 for his career), but he was pretty frustrated.”

So Crawford and Magadan put their heads together.

The two set up the pitching machine, adjusted the angle to that of a slider – the pitch which was giving Crawford so much troubles against lefties – and moved the height up and down. What the exercise did was allow the lefty hitter to understand where the pitches were coming from, and where they would end up, allowing for a more discerning batting eye.

“I think that helped him a lot,” Magadan said. “It just gave him a feel for where the ball has to start for him to swing at it. He’s not going to be perfect, but he has laid off some sliders in the dirt, and has a good feel for where the ball ahs to be for him to swing at it.”

Whether partly coincidental or not, the results were immediate.

In his only at-bat against a lefty Friday, Crawford doubled off Yankees lefty Boone Logan. He saw three sliders that sixth-inning at-bat, ripping the final one for the hit.

Then, Saturday, the outfielder came away with his most successful game of the season against a left-hander, ripping three hits against southpaw CC Sabathia. (The Red Sox are now the only team to total more than three hits from left-handed batters in a single game against Sabathia, notching five twice.)

This was a pitcher in Sabathia who had allowed lefty hitters just 30 hits in 164 at-bats (.183) this season,

“Lefty on lefty slider is just a tough pitch,” said Crawford, who was hitting .100 on the pitch against lefties entering Saturday. “You’ve got to recognize the pitch or know that it’s not. I wasn’t doing that earlier and trying to focus on it a little more.”

Crawford still has a ways to go, as his .168 average against lefties might suggest. (Only four left-handed hitters – Adam Dunn, Carlos Pena, David DeJesus, Jason Heyward – are worse against southpaws this season.)

But for the outfielder, it’s a much-welcomed step in the right direction.

“I can’t give up,” Crawford said. “I’ve always got to have positive thoughts about making the season better for me as best I can. I definitely have that in my mind.”

“Everybody knows at one point, he’s going to do what he normally does,” said David Ortiz. “He’s a great player and it’s not a secret. Everybody goes through a tough time. For you to bounce back, all you have to do is have everybody have your back. And we got his back. And I know at one point he’s going to come out and do what we know he can do. He’s a great player. Things happen you know.”