CHICAGO – A grand slam allowed by Braves reliever Chris Withrow and a franchise-record 18th April loss overshadowed everything else Friday, but there was an important positive amid the Braves’ offensive struggles.
Freddie Freeman had two hits including his second home run in three days, and he’s started to look like the Freeman the Braves desperately need to be an engine that drives their otherwise power-challenged offense.
After batting .167 (9-for-54) with two extra-base hits and a .241 slugging percentage in the Braves’ first nine games, Freeman is 12-for-27 (.444) with four extra-base hits in his past seven games, including five multi-hit games. The first baseman is 10-for-19 during a five-game hitting streak.
“I’ve actually felt good since Miami (April 15-17),” Freeman said. “Obviously the results didn’t come for a while, but I’ve been feeling good, better and better, staying on my legs a lot more, and the results have come in the last few games. So hopefully it’ll continue.”
He’s had no recurrence of the right hand and wrist problems which caused him to miss 44 games last season, sapped his power even when he did play, and lingered into the offseason to prevent him from taking live batting practice until spring training began.
“Obviously you never want to think about the wrist going into the season, but it’s always in the back of your mind,” he said. “But when you play through it in April in the cold, and your wrist keeps holding up with no problems, and you start to get the swing going and everything’s starting to feel good, I think it’s finally just a two-ton boulder off your shoulder. That you can just go out there and focus on getting ready for the game, not focusing on, is it going to hurt today? It’s finally over that point, and I’ve got the swing locked in.”
