Davis' recent 4-for-6 surge over two games against the Rangers came after making an adjustment to his hand positioning in the batter's box, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. "It's just been helping me be more accurate to the ball. I'm finding less swings-and-misses and a little better contact," Davis said. "Just having them farther back, there's less room to go. They're already ready to fire. It's been working."
Davis moved his hands further back and slightly higher in his stance after opening the season in a 1-for-21 slump. The adjustment paid immediate dividends against Texas, and they stemmed from advice provided by hitting coaches Darren Bush and Eric Martins after the slugger went to both for help. Davis' extended struggles with the bat -- he hit just 13 home runs over the final 98 games of last season as well -- appeared to trace back to a left hip contusion he sustained on May 5, 2019 after running into the railing along the left-field line at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. "We've just been working nonstop trying to figure out what is going to work," Davis said. "I think when I got hurt, I started getting set up in a different way. My body just wasn't adjusting to that injury. When I put my hands further back, it just kind of freed things up."