Two weeks ago, the Mets paid Freddie Freeman the ultimate compliment that he’s taking his game to the next level and becoming an elite bat in the Braves lineup – they walked him six times in four games after his walk-off home run beat them in the series opener.
Freeman didn’t like it, though, and acknowledges now he got frustrated by it. Freeman went through an 0-for-16 stretch coming out of that series, including 0-for-12 in three games in Milwaukee.
“I didn’t like that because I’m a very aggressive hitter,” Freeman said. “I would see something close, and I would try to do too much with it. When there was no one on, I was trying to drive myself in, trying to hit a home run, and that’s not me obviously. I just had to get back to the basics.”
After a conversation with hitting coach Greg Walker and catching his breath an off day in Kansas City, Freeman got back to his old approach of hitting balls where they’re pitched, up the middle and the other way. He entered this week’s Marlins series on a five-game hitting streak, during which he went 6-for-17 with a double, five RBIs, and home runs in back-to-back games against Arizona.
“I relaxed and got back going up through the middle again,” Freeman said. “I’m young. I’ve got to learn and that was one of the learning points…I never realized what that was like and it happened. Now I can put that in the memory bank.”
Brian McCann heating up in the fifth spot behind him has helped Freeman’s cause. The two games Freeman homered? McCann went 4-for-7 with a home run of his own.
Freeman is looking forward to more of the same when the Braves travel to New York July 22-25.
“It’s going to be (interesting) to see what they do when we’ve got the whole lineup rested and hitting,” Freeman said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Health updates
Jordan Schafer returned to action Tuesday against the Marlins as a pinch-hitter even though it was looking a litlte doubtful after he continued to have problems pushing off on his sore ankle while running and swinging during batting practice. Schafer legged out an infield hit to drive in a run in the Braves’ four-run sixth inning.
Evan Gattis still hasn’t been cleared to begin baseball activities and won’t play this series, though he has seen some improvement with his strained right oblique. He’s eligible to come off the disabled list on Wednesday but won’t be ready. The Braves have no timetable for his return and will take it slowly when he does start swinging a bat again to avoid setbacks.
“It’s really small increments before you let him go out and take bp, especially with an oblique,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “You don’t want a twist and go back to Day 1. You can’t afford a setback with obliques.”
The plan for Brandon Beachy was to play some catch Tuesday and then get back into the bullpen for an extended side session either Wednesday or Thursday. Gonzalez said Beachy will need a bullpen session or two before they decide when and where to send him back out on a minor league rehabilitation assignment.
Reliever Cristhian Martinez is continuing to be bothered by soreness in his right shoulder. Martinez, who has been on the disabled list since April 11, came to Atlanta to have his shoulder examined by team doctors on Tuesday. He had made three appearances on a minor league rehabilitation assignment, including two in Double-A Mississippi, giving up two runs in two innings.
