Abrams, Nats hope latest homer finally snaps him out of slump

PITTSBURGH – CJ Abrams’ first at-bat Sunday afternoon was shaping up to look a lot like so many of his at-bats over the last two months.

Leading off the Nationals’ series finale against the Pirates, the slumping shortstop aggressively went after Jared Jones’ first pitch of the day – a 99 mph fastball over the plate – and could only manage to foul-tip it. He got another 99 mph fastball on the next pitch, this one up and away, and swung through it altogether, leaving himself in an 0-2 hole.

And then Abrams turned what looked like another wasted at-bat into one of his best in a while. Recognizing an 0-2 slider from Jones, he stayed back on the pitch and blasted it 416 feet to right-center field for a leadoff homer.

“It was big,” he admitted afterward. “You’ve just got to believe in yourself when you’re up there at the plate. Keep working, and good things happen.”

Abrams has needed to tell himself that a lot during the last two months. What had been a brilliant first half, culminating in a spot on the All-Star team, has since turned decidedly disappointing.

Owner of a .282/.353/.506 slash line on July 7, he slashed .160/.224/.262 over his next 48 games, leaving his season totals (.238/.307/.417) with a whole lot to be desired.

One good swing resulting in one home run that made little difference in the Nationals’ 7-3 loss to Pittsburgh isn’t enough of a sign that Abrams has righted his wayward ship. He’s had other big swings this summer that could’ve done the trick, and none of them did.

But Sunday’s homer did come on the heels of some other better-looking plate appearances from Abrams, and that left his manager encouraged at the end of the week.

“I thought he swung the bat better,” Davey Martinez said. “He’s really trying to hit the ball to the middle of the field. He got a couple hits yesterday the other way, a couple lineouts the other way. But the home run was exactly what we’re looking for.”

Abrams has spent countless hours in the batting cage with hitting coach Darnell Coles and assistant Chris Johnson, trying to make a number of mechanical fixes to his swing. They want Abrams to have a better pre-pitch setup. They want him to stay back more and not stride too soon, making sure his bat doesn’t drag behind the rest of his body. They want a better “bat angle” from him, making sure it stays in the zone longer, which leads to a better chance of contact.

And in those cage sessions, they see better results. Abrams hits the ball with authority. And the instant data feedback they get shows his mechanics are better.

Then the game starts and Abrams tends to fall back into his old habits, getting out in front of pitches too much and unable to adjust, swinging at too many pitches out of the zone and either making weak contact or no contact at all.

“It’s the chasing,” Martinez said. “He’s just got to stop chasing. When he gets the ball where he can really hit it, he seems to be hitting the ball hard. We’ve got to keep him in the zone.”

Abrams has been fed all the information he could possibly need to get himself right. When it comes time to stare down an actual big league pitcher, he tries to block that all out and just react to the pitch he gets.

“You can’t go up there thinking too much,” he said. “I’ve just got to go out there and be myself. See ball, hit ball. Simplify at the plate.”

Has he been thinking too much when he comes up to bat?

“I think I’ve been in my head a little bit,” he admitted. “Trying to do good, trying to do my best. But I can’t focus on the result. I’ve got to just keep working, and good things will happen.”

It all sounds simple enough, but it never actually is. There are few tougher tasks in baseball than snapping out of a long-term slump. Guys can spend hours in the cage, in the video room, in the clubhouse, poring over every detail and trying to find the magic solution that cures everything.

But there isn’t time for all that when a 99 mph fastball is coming at you from 60 feet, 6 inches. The real key to breaking out of a slump is putting all the necessary time in before games to get your swing to a better place, then trusting it will show up at 7:05 p.m. without forcing it to happen in the moment.

“It’s (easier) said than done,” Abrams said. “But it can be done. So, let’s do it.”