WASHINGTON – Before Thursday's series finale against the Nationals, the Braves had just 13 runs and one home run in six games since their best hitter, Freddie Freeman, left the lineup with a right-wrist contusion. They averaged fewer than 2.2 runs while posting a 1.98 ERA during that 3-3 stretch.
In their last 18 games before Freeman left the lineup, the Braves had 13 homers and 96 runs (5.3 per game) while posting a 9-9 record with a 4.25 ERA. In those 18 games, Freeman hit .329 (23-for-70) with four doubles, six homers, 17 RBIs, 15 runs, a .392 OBP and .643 slugging percentage.
Freeman was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 18, the day after his last game.
“In general, losing ‘your guy’ is really hard,” Braves veteran Kelly Johnson said. “I mean, that’s production you just don’t easily replace. Guys have got to get real hot, and all that. That being said, the pitching that we have seen plays more of a role, just in terms of looking at those numbers and saying, well, they haven’t scored that many runs.
“I’m not saying that wouldn’t happen (against lesser pitchers), but I do feel like we can hold our own. But you’re going to miss him. Everybody would. It’s going to put (other) guys out of order, it’s going to change the way other teams attack us. It’s very unfortunate, but everyone deals with that. Up and down the league, a team’s best player is going to miss some time, here and there.”
Among the starting pitchers the Braves faced in those first six games without Freeman: Mets aces Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey and hard-throwing Noah Syndergaard, and the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann.
