Abrams joins 40-steal club, Adams getting MRI on hand

He had already reached base earlier in the game and immediately swiped second. So when CJ Abrams singled home the tying run in the bottom of the seventh Wednesday night, was there ever any question what he would do next?

“I get on base, and I’m trying to take that extra 90 every time I can,” the Nationals shortstop said. “Get in scoring position for my teammates, help the team win.”

Abrams’ baserunning wasn’t really the difference in the Nats’ 3-2 win over the Mets. His RBI single in the seventh was. As was Jacob Young’s walk-off single in the ninth, with Abrams watching from the on-deck circle and ready to take a crack at it himself if his rookie teammate hadn’t delivered.

But it was a milestone night for Abrams on the bases nonetheless, because he reached the 40-steal mark for the first time in his career and joined an exclusive list of Nationals who have ever done that.

Only Trea Turner (who stole 46 bases in 2017, then 43 in 2018) and Alfonso Soriano (41 in 2006) have stolen more bases in a single season for the Nats than Abrams, who still has 22 more games to go and a real shot at establishing a new club record.

He might even challenge the 50-steal mark.

“Why not?” he said with a wry smile. “Gotta get on base first, though.”

That remains a significant hurdle for Abrams still to cross. He’s managed to steal 40 bases despite a paltry .296 on-base percentage for the season. He’s been a bit better (.311) since taking over the leadoff spot July 7 but still hasn’t come close to realizing his full potential in that regard.

That made Tuesday night’s third-inning walk particularly meaningful for Abrams.

“Most definitely,” he said. “I haven’t walked that many times at all. That’s something I need to get better at: Taking my walks and hitting my pitch.”

Abrams has done the vast majority of his running since moving to the top of the lineup two months ago, with 29 of his 40 steals coming since July 7. That’s most in the majors during that span, and an electric pace that works out to a whopping 90 stolen bases over a full 162-game season. Even more impressive: He has been thrown out only once in all that time.

“As I always tell him: You can do unbelievable things when you get to first,” manager Davey Martinez said. “A walk turns into a double for him, sometimes a triple. He worked some really good at-bats today, got on base and got his 40th stolen base. That’s awesome. And I think there’s more in the tank.”

* The Nationals suffered a potentially serious loss Wednesday night when Riley Adams had to depart mid-at-bat in the bottom of the eighth with a left hand injury.

Adams, who was pinch-hitting for Travis Blankenhorn, fouled off a 1-1 pitch and immediately started shaking his left hand in discomfort. After a brief conversation with Martinez and director of athletic training Paul Lessard, plus one practice swing, Adams walked off the field and headed down the dugout tunnel.

He had an X-ray taken at Nationals Park, with Martinez later saying the test results were “inconclusive.” Adams will now get an MRI on Thursday as the organization holds its breath and hopes it’s not anything serious.

The circumstances surrounding Adams’ injury, occurring to his bottom hand on a seemingly innocuous swing, has club officials worried he might have injured his hamate bone. It’s a common injury for baseball players, a product of the repetitive stress of swinging a bat, with the lower hand rubbing up against the bat knob.

If Adams fractured the hamate bone, he would be done for the season, but with more than enough time to recover for spring training.