And the hope is that he will be the guy who hit .310 with two homers and eight RBI in April.

Not the Morrison who has hit just .164 (18 for 110) with two home runs and seven RBI since.

“I’m just trying to go back to what made me successful, what got me here — like going the other way, trying to have quality at-bats,” said Morrison, who went into Saturday’s game against the Rays hitless in his past 18 at-bats.

“I’m taking [the days off] as a good thing because there’s not a lot of positives, and I have to find some.”

Morrison said his troubles at the plate are a combination of mechanical and mental issues.

“You’re only as good as the pitch you swing at,” said Morrison, whose .214 batting average ranks fifth-lowest among qualified every-day position players in the National League.

“So I have to do a better job swinging at strikes and letting the ball travel, staying behind the ball. I think that’s the biggest thing. It’s just staying behind it. I hit the ball pretty well to right field twice the other day. But I wasn’t behind it, so it didn’t go anywhere. As long as I can stay behind the ball, I’ll be alright.”

Even if Morrison does turn it around, it might not be long before former first baseman Gaby Sanchez gets called back up.

Sent down to the minors on May 20, Sanchez went into Saturday’s game in Oklahoma City hitting .310 with three homers, 10 RBI and a .494 on-base percentage for Triple A New Orleans.

“We need this kid,” manager Ozzie Guillen said of Morrison.

“… Hopefully, when he’s back in the lineup, he’s back in charge. We’re a better team when he’s in the lineup.”

Praise for harper

Asked about his impressions of Bryce Harper, Guillen had nothing but praise for the 19-year-old Nationals outfielder.

“The kid got a good chance to be a great player,” Guillen said.

“I don’t know why we don’t like players like that when they come to the league. This kid plays his [butt] off. This kid plays the game right. This kid has a lot of talent. Some rookies come here like a big shot, big ego, don’t run the bases. I’m the man. This kid [does] everything the opposite. He runs. He plays hard. He feels proud. He gets upset. Don’t hate the player.”

Harper went 2 for 12 with a triple and two strikeouts two weeks ago when the Marlins got their first regular-season taste of him.

Coming up

•  Sunday: Marlins RHP Anibal Sanchez (3-4, 3.19 ERA) vs. Tampa Bay Rays RHP James Shields (6-4, 4.27), 1:10 p.m., Marlins Park.

•  Monday: Marlins RHP Josh Johnson (3-4, 4.56) vs. Boston Red Sox RHP Josh Beckett (4-6, 4.04), 7:10 p.m., Marlins Park.

•  Scouting report: Shields, making his 10th start against the Marlins, is 5-2 with a 4.09 ERA against them all-time. He threw a complete-game four-hitter the last time he saw them in Tampa last season. Sanchez is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts against the Rays.