José Abreu is heating up at the plate but his focus is on helping the Chicago White Sox rebound

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Chicago White Sox were in a big hole May 21 in New York, trailing the Yankees by five runs in the third inning.

José Abreu got his team back in the game with one swing, launching a three-run home run.

While the Sox didn’t complete the comeback, the blast began a hot stretch for the first baseman. He has a hit in 12 straight games entering Saturday.

“It seems like the other team has less people on the field now; before it seemed like they were playing with way too many people,” Abreu said through an interpreter before Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Abreu laughed while offering the explanation in the visitor’s dugout at Tropicana Field.

During the stretch, Abreu’s average went from .207 to .256. He has six multihit games and is slashing .400/.491/.756 (18-for-45) with four doubles, four home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.246 OPS during the streak.

“The guy has hit his whole career,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “He’s going to hit. There’s no question.

“It’s important, the more the lineup hits, the deeper the lineup, the less pressure he puts on himself. That’s the kind of player he is. When we don’t score he’s going to want to do it all himself.”

Abreu hit his team-leading seventh homer during Friday’s 6-3 loss to the Rays. He also leads the Sox with 23 RBIs.

Abreu led the American League in RBIs in 2019 (123) and during his MVP year in 2020 (60 in the pandemic-shortened season). He was second in the AL last season (117).

“I’ve just been doing the same routine I always do, trusting my routine, trusting the process and now the results are there,” Abreu said. “That’s the difference, honestly. The results are there instead of what was happening before.

“But the rest is the same — the process has been the same, the workout routine. Everything has been the same.”

Abreu has 15 hitting streaks of 10-plus games in his career.

The numbers are impressive, but his focus is on helping the Sox out of their recent rut.

“We’re not playing very good baseball right now, and I think that overshadows what you do as an individual,” he said. “But I’m proud of the effort we’re putting in the game. I think everybody is trying to do their best. We’re working to get out of this moment and I think we’re going to get out of this moment sooner rather than later.”

The Sox entered Saturday with a four-game losing streak and are in third in the AL Central.

Abreu’s message to the group is “just keep going, keep working hard and grinding.”

“This is not the best moment for us,” he said, “but if you keep working hard and you keep doing your stuff, you’re going to get over this moment.”

Abreu sees the talent up and down the Sox roster and is confident better times are ahead.

“No doubt about it,” he said. “We’re not passing through a very good moment, but we know the talent that we have. The clubhouse is really united. And that’s important. This is a very long season and I think at the end we’re going to be where we’re supposed to be.”