TORONTO -- Jose Abreu has been impressive lately for the White Sox.
Over his 19 games prior to Saturday's 7-2 win over the Blue Jays, the 32-year-old hit .377 (29-for-77) with six home runs, eight doubles, six walks, 25 RBIs and a 1.136 OPS. In that span, he also had 10 multi-hit efforts, hitting safely in 16 of those games and reaching base in all but one. He went 0-for-5 in the Saturday win.
Going into Saturday's game, the White Sox first baseman also led the Majors in most barrels in play with 23 -- barrels are batted balls hit with ideal exit velocity and launch angle combinations -- and was tied for the Major League lead in most hard-hit balls in play with 63, sharing the top of the leaderboard with Cody Bellinger.
“He knows who he is,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said of Abreu. “He trusts the routine he has, he’s very consistent whether he’s getting hits or not, or whether the outcome is what you want it to be. He knows what he’s supposed to do, he understands who he is, and continues to follow the routines that he has.
“He knows who he is as a hitter and I think that consistency, that approach has allowed him an opportunity to continue to do what he’s doing.”
Bummer a bright spot
Aaron Bummer kept his nonexistent ERA intact with another perfect inning on Friday night against the Blue Jays.
The left-hander came in for the eighth inning of the 4-3 loss and threw just seven pitches to induce three straight groundouts from Toronto’s 6-7-8 hitters in the order. Bummer has appeared in six games so far this season and has allowed two hits, walked one and struck out nine. The 25-year-old has held opponents to an .077 average.
“Bum’s been throwing the ball extremely well,” Renteria said. “The action on his baseball is like no other. He’s attacking the strike zone, he looks like he’s trusting himself a lot more. I think that the experiences that he’s had over the last year, when he went back down, worked on what he needed to work on, came back up, you see a genuine air of confidence -- not arrogance, but trusting himself -- and hopefully it continues and he’s able to continue to help us in the role that we use him, which is anytime we’re in trouble.”
Eloy runs the bases
For the second straight day, Eloy Jimenez was out on the field at Rogers Centre before batting practice, running the bases and going through drills to test out his readiness for games since sustaining a high ankle sprain on April 26.
The 22-year-old outfielder is expected to depart from the team soon to begin a Minor League rehab assignment.
“Talking to the trainers, he’s looking very good,” Renteria said. “He’s passing all the preliminary tests that we need for him to inch closer to ultimately hopefully a rehab stint.”
Minor movement
The White Sox signed left-hander Ross Detwiler to a Minor League deal on Saturday, and he will head to Triple-A Charlotte. The 33-year-old veteran has appeared in 190 big league games over 10 seasons with Washington, Texas, Atlanta, Cleveland, Oakland and Seattle.
Also on Saturday, the Sox acquired outfielder Paulo Orlando from the Dodgers for cash considerations. The 33-year-old spent parts of four seasons in the Majors with the Royals. Both moves are to provide depth at Triple-A.