Abreu follows cycle with pair of HRs for Chicago White Sox
It turned out to be quite a weekend for Jose Abreu.
With his son living in his native Cuba and his wife and mother living in Miami, Abreu had to sweat out Hurricane Irma on two fronts.
Not only is everyone safe, Abreu was a very tough out in an interleague series against the Giants.
On Saturday, the 30-year-old first baseman became the first Chicago White Sox player to hit for the cycle in 17 years.
In Sunday's 8-1 win against San Francisco at Guaranteed Rate Field, Abreu hit a pair of homers and knocked in 3 runs.
"It's all about the adjustments," Abreu said through a translator. "I lost my rhythm with the days that I was off and I'm regaining my rhythm again. I'm hitting the ball good. I feel very good at home plate, but it's also because of the work I put in day in and day out with my routine."
Abreu missed three games Aug. 31-Sept. 2 with a sore right elbow, but he has quickly rediscovered his hitting stroke.
"This is as consistent an approach as anybody I've seen in the big leagues," manager Rick Renteria said. "He really continues to stay focused and in the zone and continues to do what he can with pitches that are there for him to be able to hit."
In the second inning, Abreu broke the game open with a 2-run homer off Giants starter Madison Bumgarner.
"I really don't know what to do there," Bumgarner said. "That was pretty impressive hitting, I guess. I mean, I threw the ball right where I wanted to on that one."
Moncada watch:
Nearing the end of his first season with the White Sox - an abbreviated season - Yoan Moncada is still trying to find a flow.
It has been a series of starts and stops so far for the touted second baseman, but Moncada is trying to stay positive.
He was 3-for-8 in consecutive games against the Twins in late August before going on the disabled list with a right shin bone contusion. Since returning to the Sox, Moncada is 3-for-20 with 8 strikeouts.
"It has been a little bit difficult to get the timing back, but I'm working through it," Moncada said through a translator. "I'm just trying to do as much as I can to get my rhythm."
On the positive side, the switch hitter homered from the right side for the first time in his career Saturday night against San Francisco.
"You have to keep to your approach, your motivation, your routine, and I have to work hard every day," said Moncada, who is batting .182 for the season. "I have to be relentless in my work and in my approach, my preparation. That's the only way I can do better and get the results that I want."