Abrams' first Nats hit comes at key moment

WASHINGTON -- CJ Abrams had come up empty in his first eight at-bats with the Nationals. An adjustment period was to be expected for the 21-year-old shortstop who was traded two weeks ago and had been in Triple-A until Sunday.

Yet when Abrams came to the plate with two outs and the Nats trailing by one run in the 10th inning, the learning curve dissipated with a slice of the bat and a ball sent into right field.

“Just take a few breaths and swing at a good pitch,” Abrams said, adding, “I was just happy, excited that I could tie it up.”

• Box score

Abrams’ first hit with Washington was a game-tying RBI single that drove in automatic runner Alex Call from second base. He connected on reliever Brandon Hughes’ 82.8 mph slider in a lefty-lefty matchup to extend the game into the 11th inning, where the Nats fell, 7-5.

“[What] you’ve got to learn a little bit on those lefties is kind of get the ball up a little bit,” said manager Dave Martinez. “They’re going to throw some sliders, they’re going to try to get him to chase. Get them in the zone. … He’s got great bat-to-ball skills. It’s fun to watch him go out there and compete, because he truly competes. Every pitch, he’s engaged and he’s in there. He came through in a big moment, so that’s awesome.”

The hit on Tuesday was far from Abrams’ first in the big leagues -- he debuted on April 8 with San Diego as their No. 1 prospect and recorded his inaugural hit the following day against the D-backs. When the Nats acquired him on Aug. 2, Abrams had gone 29-for-125 (.232) in 46 games. So he arrived at Nationals Park with a clear vision of how to approach the plate in a new uniform.

“Got to shrink it,” he said. “Got to get everything down the middle.”

Once Abrams did connect, Martinez was impressed by how his baseball instincts shined on the bases. When the Cubs tried to nab Call at home, Abrams kept motoring to second.

“He gets a base hit and he did not stop,” Martinez said. “He knew what they were trying to do. He got to first base, he kept going to second base, and that was great baserunning. For a 21-year-old to understand that portion of the game is awesome. We’ve got a good one. We’re going to teach him how to play the game the right way. But so far, I love everything he’s doing.”

Abrams had not been pressing at the plate to put his first hit in the box score. He views baseball with a consistent lens, focusing on the long road he has ahead of him instead of getting caught up in the bright lights early in his career.

“I’m glad he got his first, and a big one at that,” Martinez said. “Now he can kind of loosen up a little bit. But the kid’s not afraid. The kid goes out there and he competes. He had some good swings today. I told him, ‘It’s just a matter of time before the balls start dropping in there for you.’ I said, ‘Keep batting, keep swinging.’”