Red Sox Projecting Confident Message About Wilyer Abreu's Hot Start
· Yahoo Sports
Wilyer Abreu's big weekend for the Boston Red Sox was a familiar sight in many regards.
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Abreu's two home runs for Boston were only his third and fourth biggest of the month, following his two bombs in elimination games for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. He also hit two home runs in the Boston opener last season against the Texas Rangers, propelling him to a hot start that eventually cooled down a few weeks in.
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Something about this year seems different, though. The Red Sox's messaging about Abreu has been that a true breakout is forthcoming, and this weekend's at-bats did nothing to slow that momentum. He went 6-for-13 against Cincinnati Reds pitching in the opening series, driving in the team's three most recent runs on a pair of long balls.
Manager Alex Cora, who has pledged to give Abreu a chance to prove himself against left-handed pitchers after platooning him in his first two seasons, delivered a confident message about the 26-year-old's chances to sustain his hot start after the series finale against Cincinnati.
“He’s looked this way before, and then he was able to come out of the gate swinging the bat well. But I think this is sustainable,”Cora said, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “He has a good knowledge of his swing and what the opposition is trying to do. We’ve just got to keep getting him more at-bats, especially against lefties, and see where it takes us."
Abreu has always had a pretty swing when he gets a pitch low in the zone that he could drop the barrel on, but this year, he's looked like the game has slowed down for him. He turned on two pitches up and in, though both were left in very hittable locations, to notch his home runs against Cincinnati pitching.
"I know myself a little better this year than last year, so I know how and when I have to do damage, and when I have to just put the ball in play and see what happens,” Abreu said, per Browne.
The league is officially on notice. The Red Sox believe Abreu is here, and making it to an All-Star Game in July would be an effective way to prove that point to the rest of the league.
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