LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Adam Duvall left Cincinnati and suddenly stopped hitting home runs – and yes, he is well aware of the drought.
“It feels like about five years, to be honest,” Duvall said. “When you’re used to driving the ball and hitting home runs, when you go that long without hitting a homer, you know it.”
Duvall finally took a step in the right direction Sunday, going deep twice for the Atlanta Braves in their 6-5 exhibition victory over the Miami Marlins. It’s only spring training, but for a lineup dealing with some early injuries, any sign of a resurgence by Duvall would be quite welcome.
Duvall surpassed 30 homers for the Cincinnati Reds in both 2016 and 2017, but he managed only 15 last year, hitting none after July 25, a few days before he was traded to Atlanta. He went 7-for-53 with the Braves, managing only one extra-base hit, and he didn’t play in the postseason after Atlanta won the National League’s East Division.
“I kind of knew what he was capable of, really, when we got him,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “He wasn’t having the greatest year, but I’d seen him before, the last couple years. He did a lot of work this offseason; they’ve been doing a lot of work right now.