Rizzo heats up after a cold spell

That was the worst I’ve ever done Rizzo, who hit .216 in June after being promoted singling to Portland May 10, acknowledges that it wasn’t a lot of fun then to come to the ballpark. He knows now, after seeing his batting average soar in July, that he can get through it, and that it might have even been good for him.

“That was the worst I’ve ever done, so I had to deal with the struggles of failing at the Double A level,’’ Rizzo said. “I felt like that was good that I failed, and I learned from what I was doing, and I learned a lot about myself and about the game. If I can take that out of the season, I’m happy.

“After at-bats I would get all down on myself, kind of. Not taking it out to defense, but I’d be thinking about it a little bit, and my defense showed it in June. I made a few errors that I usually would never make. I think I was just thinking too much. After at-bats now, if I get out I’ll singling sit down, won’t really worry about it.’’