Anthony Rizzo is in the course of an ill-timed power drought.
The primary baseman, who hasn’t homered since he went deep in back-to-back games on May 23-24 in Cincinnati, went hitless from the leadoff spot within the Yankees’ 6-3 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday in The Bronx.
“While you’re off mechanically, it sucks,’’ Rizzo said. “You fight for it and it comes back in a swing.
“You would like to help the team win, and while you don’t, it’s frustrating.”
Manager Aaron Boone said he believed the slugger’s lack of power stemmed from his neck injury earlier within the season, but Rizzo disagreed.
“I don’t think there’s anything residual [from the injury],” Rizzo said. “I’m just not hitting to my standard and it’s frustrating, personally, but this is a component of being a baseball player.
“When things get tough, it shows your character of who you’re.”
The Yankees aren’t getting their typical production from sluggers with Aaron Judge injured and Giancarlo Stanton slumping — although Josh Donaldson homered again Wednesday.
Boone said they need more from Rizzo.
“He hasn’t hit the ball out of the ballpark and that’s a part of his game,’’ Boone said. “I feel he’s gained just a little traction and is getting on base. … but we’ve got to get him there.
“He’s an enormous presence within the lineup and we’ve got to get him back to the wrecking ball he will be in the center.”
Anthony Volpe homered again Wednesday and is 15-for-30 with 4 extra-base hits in his past eight games.
Boone said he hasn’t noticed anything different in regards to the young shortstop amid the success, in comparison with his well-chronicled struggles earlier this season.
That constancy is amongst the explanations the Yankees stuck with the rookie.
“The consistency of the person,’’ Boone said of what gave him confidence Volpe would emerge from his slump.
It’s what the Yankees envisioned after they named Volpe the starter out of spring training.
“Considered one of the things we were banking on when making the choice was that we were confident in his talent and skill to play the sport at a high level, but we also felt he was equipped to cope with whatever got here down,’’ Boone said.
“It’s been fun to observe him make adjustments on the fly, which you’ve got to do. He’s done a extremely good job the previous couple of weeks.”
DJ LeMahieu continues to be trying to seek out his swing.
“He’s been improving,’’ Boone said.
The outcomes haven’t been there, as LeMahieu’s numbers dipped to a season-low .219 average and .645 OPS after he went 0-for-3 with a walk Wednesday.
Boone said he believes LeMahieu has been the victim of some particularly tough matchups against right-handed pitchers.
The team can be attempting to “discover some things [in his swing] which can be barely mechanical,’’ Boone said.
LeMahieu was dropped back to batting sixth after he had hit leadoff for much of the previous week.
Together with his walks and hits down, LeMahieu’s ability to get on base, which has been a consistent forte during his time with the Yankees, has been severely impacted.
His .287 on-base percentage is by far the worst of his profession.
Harrison Bader was out of the starting lineup after he was hit by a pitch on his right hand Tuesday, though he finished that game. Boone said the middle fielder was “sore,” but that his hand was “high-quality.”
Boone added he was trying to get Bader a time off in the course of the homestand and the hit by pitch made the choice easier.
After first cooling off on the plate, then fouling a ball off a toe recently, Billy McKinney was available only in an “emergency,” Boone said.
McKinney, who had helped the Yankees get some surprising production from the outfield for much of June, pinch-hit for Kyle Higashioka within the eighth inning, getting an infield single to snap an 0-for-14 skid.
One other lefty-hitting outfielder who had gotten useful at-bats within the injury-plagued Yankees outfield, Willie Calhoun, has been doing more baseball activities in recent days after being sidelined since June 22 with a strained left quad.
Boone said there was no timeline for a return for Calhoun, noting that it wouldn’t be until after the All-Star break.