MINNEAPOLIS – Freddie Freeman and Jeff Francoeur each had a home run and a stolen base before the end of the Braves’ fourth inning Wednesday night against Minnesota. Freeman had three hits and four RBIs before the Twins recorded a second out in the fourth, including a towering two-run homer that pushed the Braves’ lead to 7-0.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, “Folty” became a bit faulty, his performance turning on a dime. But the Braves withstood a bad few innings from Mike Foltynewicz and held on for a 9-7 win and two-game sweep at Target Field, giving the Braves their first consecutive wins against one opponent in nearly six weeks.
“It’s been a long, tough road trip, so it’s good to come in here and win a couple of hard-fought games,” said Braves interim manager Brian Snitker, whose team finished 3-6 on a three-city trip that started with a series loss at Cincinnati and continued with a woeful four-game sweep at the hands of the Rockies.
The Braves (35-66) at least rinsed some of the bad Colorado taste from their mouths with back-to-back wins against the team with the majors’ second-worst record, the Twins (37-63).
“Nice way to end the road trip,” said Freeman, who matched career highs with four hits and five RBIs, the fifth time he’s done each of those. “As an offense we’ve been struggling all year, so it was nice to put up runs like we did, and hopefully we can carry that into the homestand and end the season strong.”
They got a big three-strikeout seventh inning from rookie reliever Mauricio Cabrera, good work from three other relievers on a night when the bullpen was a man short after a Wednesday trade, and a couple of key defensive plays in the eighth from Freeman on a bunt and second baseman Gordon Beckham on a diving stop, both coming with two runners on base.
“It was an all-around good game,” Freeman said. “We played good defense when we needed to, got the guys out when we needed to and scored a lot of runs. All in all, it’s nice to have a smile on your face after a game.”
“It’s nice to get some hits with runners in scoring position,” Freeman said. “It’s nice to actually do my job for once this year. It’s been a struggle for me offensively with runners in scoring position, so it’s nice to finally come through.”
Freeman was intentionally walked in the eighth inning in his fifth plate appearance, and Nick Markakis made the Twins pay for that decision with an RBI single that drove in the game’s final run.
The Braves extended their winning streak to seven games over the Twins – albeit a streak cobbled together in three seasons over a six-year period.
Foltynewicz (4-4) was staked to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and 7-0 headed to the bottom of the fourth, then gave most of it back while allowing 12 hits (matching a career high) and seven runs (six earned) in 5 1/3 innings of a start that came apart quickly.
“Couple of great hitters on that team, and a couple of times I didn’t put (guys) away, didn’t do my job,” Foltynewicz said. “I didn’t go six or seven innings tonight, so they (relievers) had to pick up a big piece for me. I tip my cap to those guys, they did a heck of a job. They saved me tonight.”
After giving up just three singles through three scoreless innings, Foltynewicz was charged with six runs and nine hits by the last 16 batters he faced, beginning with Brian Dozier’s leadoff double in the fourth inning. He allowed five runs on six hits in a span of nine batters, including three doubles, Kurt Suzuki’s two-run, two-out homer in the fourth.
Consecutive doubles by Beckham and Freeman in the sixth pushed the Braves’ lead back to 8-5 and gave Freeman his fifth RBI. Freeman has hit .309 with 32 extra-base hits and 25 RBIs in 50 games in June and July, after hitting .251 with 16 extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in 50 games during April and May.
In the early going it was all Braves, going for their first consecutive wins against one opponent since sweeping a three-game road series June 17-19 against the Mets.
After Peterson’s leadoff walk in the first inning and Beckham’s RBI double off the left-center wall, Freeman ended a nine-pitch at-bat with a run-scoring single for a 2-0 lead. Nick Markakis grounded into a double play, but the Braves weren’t done with Twins starter Tyler Duffey.
Adonis Garcia extended his hitting streak to nine games with a two-out double, and Francoeur followed three pitches later with a two-run homer onto a grass berm behind the center-field fence for a 4-0 lead.
Ender Inciarte singled and A.J. Pierzynski doubled for the Braves’ fourth consecutive two-out hit before No. 9 hitter Erick Aybar grounded out to end the inning. It was the Braves’ first four-run opening inning since April 17, when they scored four in the first inning of a 6-5, 10-inning win at Miami.
Peterson led off the second inning with a double and scored on Freeman’s one-out single that chased Duffey from the game. The right-hander was charged with eight hits and five runs in 1 1/3 innings, which left Duffey with a 7.71 ERA in his past 13 starts and a 13.50 ERA in his past three.
