A few weeks ago, when the Phillies were in Arizona, J.T. Realmuto began talking to the hitting coaches about shortening his stride. He’s been working on it ever since — with mixed results. But lately, the change has started to show.

When the Phillies catcher is at his best, he’s driving balls to right-center and center field, and that’s what he’s done over his past week. He’s been on time, his swing looks more compact, and he’s gotten better pitches to hit.

The result? A .400/.423/.800 slash line over his last seven games entering Wednesday, including a two-homer, seven-RBI game on Saturday. He’s homed in on lots of things since he was activated from the injured list on July 20 after missing 32 games because of knee surgery, but he said shortening his stride has made the biggest difference.

“I was getting a little too aggressive and overstriding, and that usually causes me to, one, be late, and two, not make as good of swing decisions,” Realmuto said. “Having a shorter stride and letting the ball come to me a little more allows me more time and allows me to make better decisions.

“That’s pretty much the only thing I’ve been focused on recently. Obviously, keeping good direction, but when I [shorten my stride], I’m able to keep good direction and stay to right-center by allowing the ball to travel.”

The reemergence of Realmuto’s power has correlated with the reemergence of the Phillies’ offense over the past week. It took him a while to find his swing, which is natural for a player coming back from an extended rehab. Assistant hitting coach Rafael Peña said it can be especially hard for players to load properly when they’re hitting not long after knee surgery.