Hanley Ramirez was surprised to be told that he's hitting just .143 against left-handed pitching this season.

Ramirez was out of the lineup of the Boston Red Sox for a third consecutive game Wednesday night after taking a pitch off the knee Sunday. While speaking with reporters after batting practice he was informed that he's 5-for-35 with eight strikeouts in 45 plate appearances against lefties.

"You're kidding me," Ramirez said. "It took you long enough to tell me that. I didn't know that, for real. So OK, after this conversation, let's see what's going to happen now. I'll say it: Bring it, OK? I didn't know. I swear. Interesting. Thank you."

Ramirez hit .346 against lefties last season and has a .300 career average against southpaws.

"We know it's not to that [2016] level yet, but we're not going to give up on him by any means and say this isn't going to happen," John Farrell said. "We see stretches where the impact of the baseball is to all fields. That's always been the goal to get him to that. He's not giving up on himself, and we're not giving up on him."