The Braves have heavily relied on reliever Sam Freeman in the season’s first 21 games. But with the left-hander showing taxing signs, the team intends to decrease his usage.
Freeman, who’s already appeared in 14 games, entered a tied affair and allowed three runs in the Braves’ 10-4 loss to the Reds on Monday.
It was the fourth time in the past five outings Freeman has walked a hitter. Since the infamous bullpen implosion April 14 in Chicago, Freeman has walked eight hitters across 2-1/3 innings (five appearances).
Braves manager Brian Snitker attributed that to his usage, which he said needs to be cut down.
“I’m not concerned other than the fact we’ve used him a lot,” Snitker said. “I probably need to give him a blow. I think he’s healthy and all that, we’ve just been leaning on him pretty hard from the get-go. Probably just need to stay away from him for a while.”
Before the Chicago game, Freeman had issued just two walks in his first nine appearances. He hadn’t allowed a run before that game, and surrendered two hits in that span.
Still, he wouldn’t blame his torrent appearance-pace for his troubles. He’s pitched every other day since April 17, but hasn’t pitched back-to-back nights since April 13-14.
“These struggles this last week are a lack of execution,” Freeman said. “Back to work tomorrow. Get it corrected.”
Freeman issued a leadoff walk to Reds slugger Adam Duvall to start the sixth. Tucker Barnhart singled and Freeman walked Cliff Pennington before he was replaced by Peter Moylan. Each of the runners scored.
The recent Freeman woes compound the bullpen’s biggest issue. The unit has issued 60 walks in 80-1/3 innings, by far the most in the majors.
Those numbers overshadow the positives, such as the bullpen giving up a league-low two home runs, or how it entered the night holding opponents to an MLB-best .197 average.
“It’s a killer,” Freeman said of the walks. “Makes it hard to sleep at night. That’s something we have control over. We pretty much handed them the game tonight, speaking for myself. But that’s a tough one to swallow.”
Freeman is a straight-shooter. He didn’t make excuses in Chicago despite the frosty, windy conditions. He refused to use Snitker’s comments Monday as a pardon for his performance.
And he assures he and his comrades will get it turned around.
“You’ll see a change in direction on that,” Freeman said. “I’m positive on that.”
