Career highs galore for infield duo as Nats keep slugging

WASHINGTON -- With a swing of the bat, CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. both set career highs in the Nationals’ lopsided 8-2 win over the Astros on Wednesday.

They are the latest in a series of Nats players reaching career milestones before the All-Star break.

“It's awesome stuff,” said manager Blake Butera following the series win. “It's just a testament again to the way they prepare, the way they go about their business, the job our coaches do. They put a lot of time, work and effort into getting ready to go for these games, and being dialed into the game plan and what they're expecting to see is a large part of that. And when they get the pitches they're looking for, they're doing damage. Couldn't be happier for CJ and Luis for those career highs.”

Abrams drove in his 66th and 67th runs of the season, surpassing his previous career high of 65 RBIs, set in 2024. Abrams plated James Wood on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, then in the fifth he belted a solo shot, tying his career high of 20 home runs, also set in ‘24.

“It’s great. It shows the work pays off," Abrams said. "The discipline at the plate is my biggest thing. [I’m] swinging at pitches in the middle of the zone, and good things happen.”

Abrams is batting .333 with a .976 OPS with runners in scoring position this season. Last season, he hit .246 and had a .659 OPS in the same scenarios.

“He does such a good job of really dialing in his plan and simplifying his approach the bigger the moment is,” Butera said. “Teams are going to pitch him really tough with runners in scoring position, with guys on base, and force him to chase.”

Meanwhile, García reached the 20-home run milestone for the first time in his seven-year Major League career. The second baseman has been on a hot streak of late, belting seven homers in his past 11 games. At last out, he led the National League with a .572 slugging percentage.

“He's doing a good job of challenging himself,” Butera said. “Our coaches have been on him about seeing mixed BP as much as he can -- the Trajekt [pitching] machines, the different things like that, just to make the training environment as challenging as possible before the game. That way, when you get to the game, it almost feels easier.”

The most home runs García had hit in a season was 18 in 500 at-bats during the 2024 season. He has reached 20 dingers in 292 at-bats this year.

“It means a lot to me,” García said. “I’ve been in the big leagues for a while. To reach 20 was always a goal of mine, especially to reach it before the All-Star break.”

The Nationals have three players with 20-plus home runs this season: Wood (25), Abrams (20) and García (20). The only other team with such a trio is the White Sox: Colson Montgomery (23), Munetaka Murakami (20) and Miguel Vargas (20).

As of final out, García ranked second among all players with 68 RBIs, and Abrams was tied for third with the Astros' Yordan Alvarez.

“It wins ballgames,” Abrams said of the team contributions. “We get on base, we hit balls hard and we score runs. So we’re going to keep that going.”