(Photo: Michael Dwyer, Associated Press)
Pittsburgh — Nick Castellanos was on the field at 1 p.m. Tuesday putting in an arduous early batting practice session. He easily took more than 100 swings, sharing his cage time with Brandon Dixon and JaCoby Jones.
“I know him and Lloyd (McClendon, hitting coach) had a long talk today,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I hope he’s figured something out.”
Castellanos is having a rough month, hitting .226, with a .317 on-base average and slugging just .340 in June. He’s produced only four extra-base hits (three doubles and a home run) and he has the same number of double-play balls as RBIs — three.