CJ Abrams promoted to Triple-A:
Before Saturday afternoon’s game, the Washington Nationals optioned 23-year-old shortstop C.J. Abrams to Triple-A Rochester, effectively ending his season.
Davey Martinez clarified to reporters before the third game of four that it was an internal issue, not a performance issue. Cubs At Wrigley Field in Chicago.
“I just want you to know that this is not a performance thing. This is an internal matter. I’m not going to go into details or talk about anything specific,” Martinez said. “Because I need to keep these guys and everything private. There are other guys I want to root for. I’m going to root for CJ. He’s a big part of the Nationals family and always will be. But at this point, it was the right thing for me to do. With that being said, I spoke with CJ yesterday. We talked for a while and like I said, it was the right thing to do at this point. That’s all I really wanted to say about it. I’m going to miss him.”
When asked about social media tweets suggesting Abrams was at a Chicago casino until 8 a.m., general manager Mike Rizzo told The Athletic, “We are all aware of the reports, but beyond that, it is an internal matter that we will handle within our family.”
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) September 21, 2024
“As we all know, but it has nothing to do with his performance. He was a 20/30 player. So I know he struggled a little bit, but all young players do, but he did well.”
Martinez declined to comment on reports that Abrams stayed at a casino near Chicago the other night until 8 a.m., before the 1:20 p.m. CST kickoff time at Wrigley.
“I won’t give any specifics. We will handle this issue internally,” he said.
Abrams had a batting average of .268/.343/.489 with 21 doubles, six triples and 15 home runs in 89 games and 398 at-bats in the first half of the season, but after being selected to the All-Star team for the first time this year, he had 12 hits in 33 at-bats in the final nine games, and excluding the All-Star break he had a batting average of .203/.260/.326 with 8 doubles and 5 home runs.
Davey Martinez said CJ Abrams’ demotion to AAA was an “internal” issue but had nothing to do with performance. He said CJ was and always will be an important part of the family. “I guarantee he’ll be better” in the future as a result. He will report to West Palm for now.
— Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) September 21, 2024
Martinez said he expects the shortstop, acquired at the 2022 deadline in the Juan Soto/Josh Bell trade along with Mackenzie Gore, James Wood, outfield prospect Robert Hassell III and pitching prospect Jarlin Susana (and Luke Voit), to ultimately turn out better.
“I guarantee he’ll get better. He’ll get better,” Martinez said. “We had long discussions yesterday and last night before making the decision. I know he wants to be here. He was very clear about that. He’ll miss his teammates, but I won’t go into too many details, but this was the right decision.”
The Washington Nationals have demoted shortstop C.J. Abrams to the minor leagues after he was out all night at a Chicago casino before a day game against the Cubs, a person familiar with the matter said. Jesse Rogers.
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— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 21, 2024
Gore takes on the no-no:
Mackenzie Gore, who struggled to start the second half in his first five innings of Saturday afternoon’s game at Wrigley Field,7.00 ERA, 5.62 FIP, .350/.434/.547 ERA in 27 innings), and left impressive numbers (In 27 games, he has a 1.95 ERA (12R/6ER), a 3.61 FIP and a line of .212/.272/.356. 2⁄3 IP).
“I think we were kind of dipping,” Gore told reporters after throwing six innings and 93 pitches against Miami in Washington, D.C., last week.He allowed two hits, two walks and one run.), “…And we got out of there, so I’m glad I’ve been pitching better lately.”
“Just attacking the strike zone,” manager Davey Martinez said before Gore faced Fish when asked what’s been working well with the left-hander’s pitching lately.
“The competitiveness, the efficiency of his pitches … what everybody’s talking about, he has the blitzkrieg ability and the ability to attack the strike zone hard.”
Martinez said when Gore is at his best, all of his pitches work together.
“He’s started throwing his fastball a lot lower than he used to, which is great, and it’s made his changeup even better,” the manager explained.
“If you try to throw the fastball high and the changeup low, it’s easy for you as a hitter to adjust. So if he throws the fastball and the changeup low, his curveball is better.”
Gore, who played against the Cubs yesterday at Wrigley Field in Chicago, hit one batter with a pitch and walked three in the sixth inning, keeping his no-hitter going into the seventh inning. 1⁄3 Gore finally allowed a hit before giving up a solo home run at Wrigley Field on a first-pitch fastball cut to center field. Gore got the final two outs in the bottom of the seventh, throwing 94 pitches, throwing 61 strikeouts and striking out nine to seal a 5-1 victory for the visitors.
He struck out 13 times, nine on fastballs, and 14 for strikes, seven of which were on four-seam fastballs, on 66 percent of his pitches (up from an average of 55 percent this year).
“He was really good. His tempo was really, really good today. He slowed everything down and it looked like he was attacking the strike zone,” Martinez said.
“But every pitch he made was electrifying. He pitched really well today. I’m really proud of him for fighting in the middle innings and finishing strong. We’re happy for him.”
Two of Gore’s walks came on consecutive outings at the start of the fifth inning, but he turned a ground ball into a double play and then struck out swinging to end the no-hitter streak.
Gore wasn’t happy about the walk.
“He’s a perfectionist. He wants to be really good. Today it was either he got on base and walked or the inning was over, and he was still upset about walking. But I told him, ‘Hey, focus on now. It’s done, let’s go.'”
