Snapping HR drought a relief for Dickerson

NEW YORK — Corey Dickerson has been in a funk.

Prior to Sunday’s game, Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters how hard the designated hitter has been working to find his way out of the dark. Fortunately for Tampa Bay and Dickerson, the much-anticipated light appeared through the clouds during the 12-3 win over the Yankees on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

Dickerson entered the game mired in an 0-for-17 stretch that had dropped his average to .221. On top of that, he’d struck out in five of his previous six at-bats and had not hit a home run since July 29, when he went deep against Yankees starter Ivan Nova in a 5-1 win at Tropicana Field.

Putting his recent offensive struggles into the rearview mirror, Dickerson struck the big blow Sunday when he homered on the first pitch he saw from Luis Severino in the fourth.

“Felt like relief off my shoulders for sure,” Dickerson said. “Knowing that you can just kind of take a step back and trust yourself instead of force something. That’s too hard to do up here. Just relax, have fun and play the game. No matter how hard it is, you have to see the baseball and have a good approach.”

The three-run blast ignited a six-run inning that put the Rays up 8-1.

“To me, that’s …

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