Josh Bell's soul-searching occurred in an empty batting cage at PNC Park with a nearby television showing his teammates playing a game without him. Bell, responding to a challenge and benching from Clint Hurdle, took swing after swing off a tee to try to solve a problem that's followed him since spring training broke.
"Kind of unwind and reflect on some of the bad that's been happening," Bell, who was benched the previous two games, said following the Pirates' 5-3 win over the Marlins to open a three-game series Friday night.
That time alone allowed Bell to stop worrying about results. Instead, he focused on how he lost the swing that made him a National League Rookie of the Year finalist only one year ago. Hours alone in the cage and film room made Bell hopeful, but he didn't discover a possible solution until Josh Harrison joined him.
Bell, equipped with a back-to-the-basics approach, hit a two-run, opposite-field homer off Miami starter Dan Straily in the second inning to back Chris Archer.
"[Clint] put it on me to figure it out," Bell told DKPittsburghSports.com. "Figure out what I wanted to stick with. Figure out what can keep me in the lineup, what can keep us in the hunt. I’m definitely going to continue to work for it and through the offseason. Keep grinding."
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