BOSTON -- Sam Travis has shown flashes since making his Major League debut in May 2017, but he couldn¡¯t quite get them to stick. But after years of callups and Minor League assignments, the former second-round Draft pick has made an adjustment that has led to success at the plate and earned him more playing time with the Red Sox.

¡°As far as when I¡¯m swinging, I¡¯ve hit some balls the last couple of years, but I wouldn¡¯t be hitting them the right way,¡± Travis said on Thursday before he made the start in left field against the Rays. ¡°[I would be] staying back and spinning instead of getting some movement forward and working through the baseball.¡±

Travis split time between the Majors and Triple-A Pawtucket to begin the season. He batted just .194 and didn¡¯t have an extra-base hit in 10 games with the Red Sox before the All-Star break.

He has emerged from the break with a surge, hitting .379 with two home runs and three doubles in 13 games since being recalled on July 15.

¡°I do believe that last year -- it was the first time I saw him -- in Spring Training, his swing was good. He stayed on top of the ball,¡± manager Alex Cora said. ¡°The few times we called him up, it seemed like he was trying to create and trying to hit the ball in the air. His strength is actually [staying] on top of the ball and [hitting] line drives all over the place.¡±

The 25-year-old has committed to his approach at the plate. He has a greater awareness of his movements during his at-bats, and has seen the tangible results of the adjustment. He entered Thursday's series finale 4-for-6 in two games in the series against the Rays.

¡°Don¡¯t like when [Travis] comes up to the plate to hit, because he¡¯s getting some big hits against us,¡± Rays manager Kevin Cash said. ¡°He¡¯s shown the ability to kind of shorten up a little bit with two strikes and take his hits the other way. I know we shift him pretty heavily, but when a player shows that ability, it¡¯s really difficult to defend. He¡¯s putting together pretty professional at-bats, which basically one through nine do over there.¡±

Travis has had opportunities to make a mark in the past, now he's doing more frequently.

¡°You¡¯re swinging at better pitches, you¡¯re seeing the ball better and you¡¯re just better on a daily basis,¡± Travis said. ¡°This game is about consistency. You¡¯ve got to be able to bring it every day.¡±

Said Cora: ¡°We like this version.¡±

Cora to hold team meeting

Cora plans to meet with the Red Sox when they are in New York to face the Yankees, a series that can have implications in the standings. He planned to map out the message on the trip from Boston.

¡°It¡¯s the reality of where we¡¯re at,¡± Cora said. ¡°They know, but it¡¯s just a reminder.¡±

When asked how common these meetings are, Cora said, ¡°Not common at all. We meet on a daily basis to go over pitchers, and I use that sometimes to send a message -- we need to do this better, or we¡¯re doing this great, just keep going. Not too often.¡±

The Red Sox entered Thursday¡¯s series finale against the Rays 10 games behind the first-place Yankees in the American League East and 2 1/2 games back in the AL Wild Card standings.

Vazquez out of lineup

Catcher Christian Vázquez was out of the lineup on Thursday after taking a ball off his right knee in Wednesday's loss. After getting off to a hot start and hitting .299 the first half of the season, he is batting .148 in his last seven games.

Although Cora didn¡¯t say Vazquez would be unavailable the entire game, he noted, ¡°I think he needs a day, I think mentally, too.¡±

¡°I do believe he¡¯s chasing pitches,¡± Cora said. ¡°He¡¯s expanding the zone, something I don¡¯t think he did earlier in the season. ¡­ I think a day away from it is going to benefit him. ¡­ I think offensively, that¡¯s something he needs to get back to and just keep dominating the strike zone and go from there.¡±

Sandy Leon started behind the plate to catch Andrew Cashner.