still kickin’

His numbers are down this year, but Bobby Abreu, at age 37, showed he still has a little pop in his bat on Tuesday night. The ex-Jackson Generals standout blasted a pair of home runs, including a ninth-inning game-changer off Mariano Rivera, to spark the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-4 win over the New York Yankees. Abreu, who hit .303 with 16 homers and played a stellar right field for the 1994 Gens, is one of the most accomplished former Jackson area Double-A players. He entered this season with 2,257 career hits, 276 homers, 1,265 RBIs and 372 stolen bases. A .296 career hitter, he’s batting just .255 this season. His two homers Tuesday gave him six for the season, to go with 45 RBIs. The Angels, battling for a playoff spot, figure to keep plugging the left-handed hitting Abreu into the lineup. His days of carrying a team likely are over, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him provide some more big hits down the stretch.

P.S. Former Meridian Community College standout Cliff Lee went eight innings and fanned 10 to pick up his 12th win for Philadelphia on Tuesday. But there seemed to be more buzz about his bat than his arm; he hit his second home run of the season in the Phils’ 2-1 win at Los Angeles. He reportedly has a friendly competition going with fellow pitcher Kyle Kendrick, and Lee now leads 2-0. By the way, the Phillies moved 36 games over .500 with Tuesday’s victory.