Abreu picks up the slack in Yordan's absence

CLEVELAND -- Astros slugger José Abreu struggled mightily throughout the month of May, batting just .180 with four extra-base hits in 26 games.

All it took was flipping the calendar to June and visiting one of his favorite ballparks to break out of the extended slump.

Abreu homered, singled and drove in three runs for the second straight night at Progressive Field, helping Houston break a four-game losing streak with a 6-4 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.

His timing couldn’t have been better. The Astros placed Yordan Alvarez, who leads the Majors with 55 RBIs, on the injured list with an oblique injury upon arriving in Cleveland on Friday.

“It starts with one good game. Now it’s two for José,” manager Dusty Baker said. “Hopefully, there will be about 18 more, especially without Alvarez here.”

The 36-year-old first baseman had gone 61 games without a three-RBI performance since joining Houston in the offseason, but did so on back-to-back days against a very familiar foe.

Abreu played 150 games against Cleveland during his first nine MLB seasons with the Chicago White Sox, ringing up 13 homers and 45 RBIs in 75 contests at Progressive Field. The Cuban-born All-Star inked a three-year contract with the Astros last November.

“I spent nine years in this division and have been here a lot,” Abreu said through translator Jenloy Herrera. “I do feel very comfortable hitting in this ballpark.”

Abreu went 2-for-7 with a three-run homer off Logan Allen in the series opener Friday, which the Guardians won 10-9 in 14 innings, then went 2-for-5 with a two-run shot off Triston McKenzie on Saturday.

His only previous blast occurred May 28 at Oakland, when he ended a 50-game homerless drought to start the season.

“It’s about continuing to move forward,” Abreu said. “I had some hits today that helped the team win. That’s what is most important.”

Baker said he saw signs of improvement from Abreu late last month, though they didn’t translate into hits or homers.

Since June 1, Abreu’s statistics reflect how well he is bouncing back. He is batting .289 with nine RBIs in nine games, going 6-for-16 over the last three.

“Everybody wants you to go from cold to hot, but it takes a couple of times of getting hot before you get there,” Baker said. “It didn’t take three days to get into it, so it usually takes this long to get out of [it]. You just have to wait it out.”