Chicago White Sox: Jose Abreu getting back to HR form
Chicago White Sox first baseman, and the 2014 AL Rookie of the Year Jose Abreu is possibly hitting his stride, because in the past three games (entering Saturday) Abreu has hit a home run in each of those games.
Friday Abreu’s home run traveled 343 feet off a pitch from Tampa Bay’s Brandon Gomes in the top of the seventh inning, scoring two runs with two outs.
Against the Astros, Abreu hit home runs on Tuesday and Wednesday with the home run on Wednesday traveling 377 feet against Houston’s Pat Neshek, with one runner on the bases and one out in the eighth inning.
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On Tuesday, Abreu’s first home run of this three-game streak (406 feet) came in the sixth inning off Dallas Keuchel for two RBIs with no outs.
This was the first time in Abreu’s MLB career he hit a home run in three consecutive games.
All three of Abreu’s home runs have been with a runner on the bases, hopefully getting him back into the groove of his rookie season last year when he hit 36 home runs, along with 107 RBIs to win the ’14 AL Rookie of the Year award, and to earn an All-Star game bid along the way.
This season (before Saturday’s game) Abreu is batting .287 (.317 batting average in ’14) with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs through Friday, June 12. Abreu’s longest home run thus far this season is 439 feet against the Kansas City Royals on April 6 at Kauffman Stadium.
In ’15 Abreu also has nine doubles, two triples (35 doubles, two triples in ’14) along with an on-base percentage of .342, and a .514 slugging percentage.
Abreu had a slow start to this season … for him at least (five home runs in April, two in May) but recently he’s really began to turn up his play before Saturday’s game against the Rays.
In his past seven games (as of June 12) Abreu in 27 at-bats is batting .333 with nine hits (three home runs), seven RBIs and six runs. He’s walked once and has a .704 slugging percentage in those seven games.
In the past month (30 games) Abreu has a .294 average with seven home runs and 23 RBIs.
Jun 9, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (79) hits a two run home run against Houston Astros starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel (not pictured) during the sixth inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
It is good to see Abreu really begin to turn up his level of play. What I like about No. 79 is the fact he’s more than a home run hitter, but it is expected of him to hit 30-40 home runs per season. The past three games for the slugger he is 6-for-12 with four runs and six RBIs.
The White Sox need Abreu at the top of his game, for the fact the second-year player is the leader of this ball club. He’s not only the best offensive player on the White Sox roster, but he (and Chris Sale) are the faces of the franchise, so high expectations are put upon them for good reason.
As June continues and the summer days move along, Abreu will most likely continue to improve, and he’ll get close or match those numbers of his rookie season, meaning (hopefully) the rest of his teammates will follow his lead, and wins will come.
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