At one point this season the Braves played 15 consecutive games without a home run. Now lately they are hitting them every day.
Freddie Freeman hit a pair of two-run homers against the Phillies and Nick Markakis hit one as the Braves continued the power surge they started during a four-game series in Pittsburgh. After hitting just nine home runs over their first 36 games, the Braves have clubbed nine in their last five.
And they aren’t just being hit by Freeman, who leads the team with eight home runs. He had two homers against the Phillies on Friday but the other seven on the trip have been scattered among five players: Jeff Francoeur (two vs. Pirates), Mallex Smith (two vs. Pirates), Tyler Flowers (one vs. Pirates), Kelly Johnson (one vs. Pirates) and Nick Markakis (one vs. Phillies).
The Braves still are last in the majors in home runs by a wide margin (16 fewer than the Phillies entering Friday) but they welcome the power surge.
“You look in the room and there may not be 20-25 homers (from) a bunch of them, but there are guys in there capable of doing what we did tonight,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Like I told them the other day, keep grinding and things will start falling our way, too. You’ve just got to handle that adversity. There’s always good things on the back end of that.”
Freeman’s two-run home run in the third inning Friday put the Braves ahead for good and ended Phillies starter Arron Nola’s run of 36 innings without allowing a homer. Markakis added another two-run homer in the seventh, hit his first home run since Sept. 5. Freeman’s hit his second homer against Phillies left-hander Brent Oberholtzer in the ninth inning.
The Braves' home run surge has coincided with some players taking more aggressive swings during batting practices. Before Friday's game, Freeman said he was skeptical if that explains why the Braves were hitting more homers and he was still unsure after the game.
“I don’t know if it’s a coincidence,” Freeman said. “I guess it could be all in your mental aspect going up to the plate. If you are that loose and feel going up to the plate, this game is mostly mental. Me, personally, if I let loose and try to hit homers it doesn’t roll over very well because I will be jumpy.”
