BOSTON -- Travis Shaw finds himself in the first honest-to-goodness slump of his major league career, having gone just 1-for-18 on the just-completed road trip, and with a longer dip, covering the last 19 games in which he's hitting just .164 (12-for-73).
Still, Shaw is convinced that this skid is temporary.
"Me and Chili (Davis, hitting coach) have been working and you just keep going,'' said Shaw. "You search for something. You're looking for that feeling that you had a few weeks ago. Sometimes, it just takes time and repetitions. Eventually, it's going to come. You just keep looking for something, searching for something and keep going.
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"Slumps happen and this isn't going to be the last one. So you just keep working.''
Shaw has noticed that his pitch selection is off, as he chases pitches he shouldn't.
"There's a pretty consistent attack plan from (opposing) teams right now,'' said Shaw, "and I have a pretty good idea about what that is. I kind of know what to look for, at least in terms of what the trend has been the last week and a half. I feel like I have a pretty good attack plan, too.
"That chess match never stops. It just happens that just when my swing wasn't feeling great, they kind of (figured out a way to pitch me). It's bad timing. I don't feel well and they're executing and that can be a bad combination. But like I said, I think I have a good idea what to do from here on out.''
Boston Red Sox
The hope is that Shaw, who has traditionally hit well at Fenway, will use this 10-game homestand at Fenway to straighten out in the batter's box.
"It's that Monster, trying to go the other way,'' said Shaw. "It keeps me on pitches and keeps from being too far out front on a lot of pitches, which, honestly, is what kind of happened in Minnesota. I felt, for the most part, the first game in San Francisco, was a pretty good game. I was 0-for-5, but I felt I hit three balls hard. Minnesota wasn't good at all. I was out in front of a lot of pitches, so I'm gearing everything back and re-setting.''
Now at home for a week and a half, and with the left field wall at which to aim, Shaw naturally figures to stay back a little longer and see pitches better. The results, he hopes, will follow.
For Tuesday's game, at least, those hits will have to come from lower in the batting order, as Shaw was dropped to eighth in the Red Sox' lineup.
"I think the most important thing is to stay with a disciplined strike zone,'' said John Farrell. "I think there's a pretty clear book used by teams attacking him. (He needs to) stay with a defined strike zone and not expand.''
Sean McAdam can be followed on Twitter: @Sean_McAdam