CJ Abrams put the Nationals on his back Tuesday night and turned a tight game into a 3-1 win, powering Washington to its 74th victory with four games left in the season.
Abrams did all the heavy lifting offensively. He entered the night with 99 RBIs and left with 102 after launching two home runs, bringing his season total to 33. He also added 30 doubles and 33 stolen bases, putting himself in a very exclusive class: he became the 16th player in MLB history to reach those numbers in the same season.
“He’s so talented and gifted. … Getting over 100 RBIs, I mean just talk about that, and what CJ has done this year.
The amount of stolen bases he has, the home runs, the doubles, and RBIs. A superstar in the making.
It’s been a lot of fun to watch him do his thing and just sit in the dugout and know he’s on our team. Just couldn’t be more impressed with what CJ has done.
I’m proud of him.”
Dylan Crews also chipped in on the bases, swiping his 10th and 11th stolen bases in the game. That made him the fifth Nationals player this season to join the 10-homer, 10-steal club, alongside Abrams, James Wood, Daylen Lile, and Jacob Young.
For the most part, though, this was Abrams and Crews carrying the offense. The two accounted for four of Washington’s seven hits, and their work produced every run the Nationals needed.
On the pitching side, Detroit’s lone run came in a messy sequence that started with a strikeout and a wild pitch, then turned into a run that scored on another wild pitch after what had originally been ruled a passed ball. It wasn’t a clean night for Washington’s arms overall - the Nationals allowed six walks, hit a batter, threw two wild pitches, and gave up seven hits. There wasn’t a spotless inning in the bunch.
Even so, the staff limited the damage to one run, and that was enough.
Riley Cornelio opened the game and handled 2 2/3 scoreless innings before turning it over to Jackson Kent, who followed with 4.0 innings of one-run ball. Both pitchers helped their numbers take a step forward.
Cornelio finished with a 3.89 ERA on the season, while Kent dropped to 5.94. Kent had been sitting at an 8.03 ERA just five starts ago, and Cornelio was at 7.94 in July.
The back end of the game belonged to Jack Sinclair and Erik Tolman, who each threw a scoreless inning to finish things off with a hold and a save, respectively.
Elsewhere, the Rochester Red Wings’ Triple-A playoff game against Memphis was ongoing.
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