SAN FRANCISCO — Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams is not the type of player to announce his presence with his words. So on Tuesday night, he found another way, when he launched a two-run home run in Washington’s 5-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m not sure how far it went,” Abrams said, before smirking. “It felt good though.”
Abrams suffered a pinkie injury sliding into second base Friday, an ailment that sidelined him for the final two games of Washington’s series against the Philadelphia Phillies and the start of its West Coast road trip.
The injury was clear ahead of Saturday’s game, when Abrams stood in the back of the clubhouse with his bat in hand. Abrams frequently works on his swing, but this time, he grimaced after he swung, a reaction that signaled that something was off. Then, he swung with his pinkie finger out, put the bat down and motioned for second baseman Luis García Jr. to look at his hand.
On Monday, Nationals Manager Dave Martinez said Abrams was close to a return, but still felt discomfort swinging the bat. He was penciled into the leadoff spot again one day later.
Abrams was on a six-game hitting streak before his injury. So far this season, he has looked like a more relaxed hitter at the plate. His hands are noticeably farther out than a year ago and he’s not dropping the bat behind him before he swings.
Abrams — a career .175 hitter against lefties, compared to .279 against righties — made his return on Tuesday against Giants left-hander Kyle Harrison, which provided a test, but his momentum at the plate continued.
In his first at-bat, Abrams struck out and chased a fastball out of the zone. But in the ensuing at-bat, Martinez wanted Abrams to make an adjustment. Harrison’s fastballs were tailing in on the hands of lefties. Washington’s coaching staff has emphasized wanting Abrams to hit to the opposite field. But this scenario was different.
“I said, ‘I don’t think you could hit this guy the other way,’ ” Martinez said. “ ‘I think you got to stay on top of the baseball and really try to zone in on right-center field.’ I didn’t think he was going to hit a home run, but that was a good at-bat.”
Abrams got behind in the count 0-2, but fouled off three pitches and took two balls before turning on an elevated fastball from Harrison. Abrams stood at home plate and admired his work before turning to the bench and throwing his bat toward the dugout. Once he crossed home again, he jumped in the air as he high-fived outfielder Jacob Young, who had been on third.
“That was fun to watch,” said Young, who called it a “huge swing and big moment for us.”
Abrams also drove in Young in his third at-bat, though it started off poorly. He swung awkwardly at a first-pitch change-up. His shoulders slumped. His bat smacked home plate as he leaned back and shook his head. Plate discipline was a point of emphasis this offseason, too. But he took three straight pitches to even the count. He fouled off a pitch and then laced a slider to left-center.
“He really stayed inside the ball,” Martinez said. “He was just trying to move the baseball. A great piece of hitting.”
It’s early in the 2024 season, so all this comes with the usual small sample size caveats, but some of Abrams’s stats are encouraging. For the Nationals, though, what mattered most Tuesday was that their shortstop was back.
“Always feels good to be out there on the field playing baseball,” Abrams said. “Getting out there with the boys, having fun, getting a win like tonight.”
