Abreu gets quick test in left

Wouldn’t you know it? The very first inning of his very first Cactus League game in left field, trying to get comfortable with the newness of it all, Bobby Abreu fields two fly balls.

Following two singles, White Sox slugger Carlos Quentin lifted a towering fly ball against Matt Palmer that drifted to his left as Abreu came charging in. He made the catch, but it wasn’t an easy chance. The next hitter, Jim Thome, lifted another high fly that got in the path of the sun. Shielding his eyes with his glove, Abreu handled that one as well.

In his first Angels at-bat, Abreu sprayed a ball into the left corner, foul, before flying to center. In his second at-bat, against Octovio Dotel in the third, Abreu demonstrated his discipline, taking  the count to 3-0 before walking on a 3-1 pitch after a fly-ball RBI double to left by Hainley Statia.

Abreu hopes to play every day until he departs after Sunday’s game, giving him a chance to get acquainted with left field. Almost exclusively a right fielder in his 13-year Major League career, he has played left only 16 times — and not since 1997.

     

 

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