José Abreu sparked the Astros offense over the last month of the season hitting eight homeruns and driving in 33 runs to lead the team to a division title and a first-round playoff bye with his efforts. Although he knocked in 90 runs during the regular season, Abreu underwhelmed with the lumber.
During the postseason the native of Mal Tiempo, Cuba has ratcheted up his production significantly to become a nice complement in the lineup for Yordan Álvarez . His three dingers, eight runs batted and an OPS of .972 are a testament to that. In total he has driven in 13 runs in only 51 playoff at-bats.
Abreu and has bat must be a key figure for the Astros if the plan to get back into the series against the Rangers, but with the offensive artillery they have at their disposal one can never the defending world champs out.
José Abreu nos habla sobre su amistad con @AChapman_105 y sobre su desempeño en los playoffs. #pelotacubana #Postseason #Ready2Reign pic.twitter.com/y93pvJ0vxW
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) October 17, 2023
Is there a friendly rivalry between Chapman and yourself?
No, we are brothers in a religion and I have a lot of respect for him. I don’t think anyone can take away everything he has achieved in the big leagues and I hope he continues to have many more great seasons.
Did you want to face him in the game before he was removed?
I think that it just wasn’t in that cards, that’s how it is and when I have to do it I will try to execute as best as possible and I guarantee he will do the same.
You have improved your performance in the postseason, have you done anything different?
I basically try is to find a way to enjoy the myself and accept what life gives us in each game. I think playoffs is playoffs and anyone who hasn’t played in the postseason doesn’t understand what that is.
How much did injuries affect your performance this season?
I believe that the injuries are part of the game, there is no reason to justify what did not happen, I focus on what happened after the injury and I always look for a way to be positive and that is what I try to do every day.
How pivotal was not being able to score in tonight’s fifth inning?
It is part of the game, you want to execute in those situations and unfortunately we didn’t. We have to find a way to execute in these situations, but if we didn’t today tomorrow we’ll find a way, but like I said it is all part of the game.