Padres' Abrams stays hot for Chihuahuas
The top third of El Paso’s lineup was the engine driving a big night. C.J. Abrams was the spark plug that lit it all.
Baseball’s No. 6 overall prospect homered in his second three-hit game over his last four, driving in four runs and scoring three to help Triple-A El Paso to a 14-5 rout of Sugar Land.
Abrams reached four times on Saturday, kicking his night off with a walk in the bottom of the first before getting his hit parade started. After grounding out softly to second base in the second inning, the infielder went off. Abrams roped a two-run single to center field in the bottom of the third before belting a solo homer, his fourth longball of the year, to right field in the sixth.
San Diego’s top prospect capped his night with an RBI single to right in the bottom of the eighth.
Abrams is in the midst of a surge at the plate over his last four games. After starting the season in the big leagues with a .182/.270/.273 slash line through 20 games, he returned to the Minor Leagues where his first 10 days were an adjustment period. The second baseman headed into play on Wednesday batting just .173/.232/.365 at Triple-A.
Since then, Abrams has gotten himself on a roll. Over his last four contests, the sixth overall pick from 2019 has gone 9-for-16 with a homer, seven RBIs and eight runs scored, boosting his Pacific Coast League slash line to .265/.333/.456 through 15 games. Saturday’s homer was Abrams’ first since he cranked three between his first two games back in the Minors on May 11 and 12.
Behind Abrams in the Chihuahuas lineup, Brent Rooker and Nomar Mazara combined to go 4-for-10. Rooker belted a pair of homers and drove in five while Mazara added a solo shot.