Relaxed at plate, Souza goes deep twice

NEW YORK — The Rays all say the same things about Steven Souza Jr.

They marvel at his ability, and they hope that he can turn potential into reality. They watch home runs like the two he hit in Thursday night’s 5-4 loss to the Yankees, especially the one that rocketed off the sports bar in center field, and they dream of seeing that more often.

“Steven has as much talent as anyone who puts on a uniform through the big leagues,” starter Alex Cobb said. “The one thing he does is he tries too hard. He wants to outwork anyone else.”

Sometimes, all the work helps. All too often, it works against him.

Cobb watched it from afar for much of this season, as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery. Cobb has seen it close up this month, and when he watched Souza strikeout twice in two at-bats Wednesday against the Orioles, he went to him in the dugout and offered some friendly advice.

“It looked like he was trying to play against the guy on the mound and the guy in the [batter’s] box,” said Cobb, who told Souza he just needed to relax and trust his ability.

Souza heard the same message Thursday from Chase Whitley, another Rays …

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