Switch-hitting Aaron Hicks gets right side up for Yankees

Switch-hitting Aaron Hicks gets right side up for Yankees

Aaron Hicks went back to his strong side to lift the Yankees to victory.

The Yankees switch hitter has struggled mightily from the left side this season but got to bat right-handed in his final at-bat Wednesday night and connected for a game-winning RBI single in a 6-3 win over the Astros at Yankee Stadium.

Hicks came to the plate in the eighth inning with runners on first and second to face Astros left-handed reliever Brooks Raley. That meant batting from the right side, and Hicks didn’t let it go to waste, poking a single to right field that broke a 3-3 stalemate and sent a charge into the crowd of 9,895.

“I was looking for something middle away, got a changeup up in the zone and was able to keep it in play down the line,” Hicks said.

Though it wasn’t Hicks’ hardest-hit ball of the night, it was certainly effective. But the center fielder, who went 2-for-4, also said he feels like he is starting to build some momentum at the plate.

Aaron HicksAaron Hicks gets an RBI single against the Astros.Getty Images

“I’ve been having some pretty good at-bats where I’ve been hitting the ball hard and that’s pretty much all I can do,” Hicks said.

Earlier, in the sixth inning while batting from the left side, Hicks roped a double to right field. Third base coach Phil Nevin held Gio Urshela at third base on the play, though, keeping the 3-3 tie intact. It stayed that way after the Yankees failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position with Hicks standing on second base.

“I felt like I saw the ball well today from both sides of the plate,” Hicks said. “I definitely think I’m trending in the right direction.”

Hicks entered Wednesday batting 8-for-57 (.140) over his past 17 games. For the season, he was hitting just .163, with the splits favoring his at-bats from the right side: Left-handed, he was slashing .125/.250/.188 while slashing .250/.300/.607 right-handed.

“I do feel like in the last week, it has been better [from the left side],” manager Aaron Boone said before the game.

“I think he’s left the zone probably in a little bit of chasing the result and wanting to do well, and that’s when, like anyone, but him especially because he’s so good at the zone control, when he gets out of that and starts chasing the result a little bit, it starts to look like a press and expanding the zone a little bit. I feel like that’s starting to get tightened up.”