CJ Abrams, the Nationals’ 22-year-old shortstop, continues his encouraging season with two blasts, the second of which had an exit velocity of 111 mph.
Abrams hit .327 in the month of July, stole 16 bases and walked nine times.
Abrams has established himself as a pull hitter. Abrams entered Monday batting .413 with 12 home runs, 12 doubles and 36 RBI on balls that he pulls, according to FanGraphs. He’s hitting .236 on balls he hits to center and .298 to the opposite field.“He gets himself ready early,” Martinez said. “So he’s able to make an adjustment on the ball and that’s been the big difference. We’ve tried really hard for him to stay on plane and stay on top of the baseball.
But Corbin’s outing made for minimal work from the bullpen. Jordan Weems covered 1⅓ innings before Jose A. Ferrer pitched the ninth.Abrams provided all the support they would need. On both home runs, he saluted to his teammates as he rounded first. Practice makes perfect.The Nationals promoted two of their 2023 draft picks, Yohandy Morales and Andrew Pinckney, from High-A Wilmington to Class AA Harrisburg.