MIAMI – Freddie Freeman has hit .347 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 47 games this season against every team other than Miami. Against the Marlins, the Braves first baseman was 0-for-28 with one walk and 12 strikeouts after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Friday's series opener.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez took to extreme measures Saturday by giving Freeman a hug before the game and telling him he’d be OK. Gonzalez isn’t into hugging players, but Freeman is.
Sure enough, Freeman hit a two-run double in the third inning Saturday, his first hit in 30 plate appearances against the Marlins this season.
What made Freeman’s early season struggles against the Marlins all the more surprising was the fact that during the previous two seasons, he hit .336 (40-for-119) against them and had 15 extra-base hits (five homers) and 23 RBIs in 33 games, with a .430 OBP and .555 slugging percentage.
“He’s a guy that you almost have to have no plan,” said Marlins pitcher Tom Koehler, when asked about holding Freeman in check Friday. “He’s such a quality hitter that any mistake can turn into a homer, a double. He puts together good at-bats. You can’t even sit here and say you try to out-think him because you can’t do it. You take the scouting reports and throw them out the window and just have to be ready to throw any pitch in any situation.”
As for Gonzalez, he can’t escape lineup advice anywhere he goes. He was having breakfast Saturday with his son Alex, who accompanied him on this road trip. Alex is a college student at the University of Mississippi.
“My son, he’s into that Twitter stuff, and I guess somebody Tweeted it or something,” Gonzalez said of Freeman’s stats against the Marlins. I haven’t even had my cup of coffee first and he said, ‘Dad, are you going to play Freeman today? You know he’s 0-for-28 (against Miami).’”
Gonzalez gave an exasperated look. He said he told his son, “Can I have my coffee first?”
