Freddie Freeman was a 20-year-old beginning his first season in Triple-A when Ubaldo Jimenez tossed a no-hitter against the Braves nearly 15 months ago at Turner Field.
Jimenez and the rest of the Colorado Rockies probably wish Freeman were still playing up the road at Gwinnett.
The rookie first baseman drove in three runs with two homers on Monday night, more than enough run support for the Braves and Tommy Hanson in a 4-1 win against the Rockies to open a four-game home series.
It was Freeman's first multi-homer game in the majors.
“You never think that would happen," said Freeman, who hit a two-run, two-out homer in the first inning and a solo homer in the eighth. "The first one was a big one to get us out early, in the first inning. ... Then Tommy Hans does what he does.”
Hanson (10-4) limited the Rockies to four hits and one run in seven innings to win his fifth consecutive start and lower his ERA to 2.52. He said being left off the National League All-Star team Sunday wasn't a motivating factor.
“Not at all," said Hanson, who had six strikeouts with one walk. "I just wanted to go out there and execute our game plan and worry about our team. That’s all I’m worried about right now, giving us a chance to win.”
Jimenez threw a no-hitter the last time he faced the Braves on April 17 last year. In his Monday night return, he took a back seat to Hanson, who is 5-0 with a 1.97 ERA in his past five starts.
“That’s why he’s up in the league leaders in ERAs and wins," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He was outstanding."
The Braves got a hitless inning apiece from Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel to close out their sixth win in seven games, and 11th in 14 games. They remained four games behind first-place Philadelphia in the National League East standings.
Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 25th save, one shy of tying Jonathan Papelbon’s major league record for saves by a rookie before the All-Star break.
Hanson showed why plenty of observers considered it a glaring snub that he was left off the All-Star squad announced Sunday.
“He’s an All-Star in all our books," Freeman said. "You know, a guy has 10 wins and a two-five ERA and is not in the All-Star game. I don't get that."
Hanson was pitching so well late in the game that Gonzalez left him in to bat with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth, and the Braves ahead 3-1. He struck out, and then worked out of trouble in the seventh by striking out Ty Wigginton with runners on second and third after allowing consecutive two-out hits.
Kimbrel’s main competition for NL Rookie of the Year could end up coming from his teammate Freeman. The big first baseman struggled initially at Triple-A Gwinnett, then thrived after getting used to the level of pitching.
He did the same thing this season in the majors, slumping early before finding his groove. Now he’s thrust himself into early discussions for the top rookie honors with 11 homers and 38 RBIs before the All-Star break, to go with exceptional defense.
“He’s been great," Gonzalez said. "He's been able to compete in the majors leagues and help us win ballgames, which is big for a 21-year-old.”
Freeman has hit .315 with six homers and 23 RBIs in his past 39 games. His two-run, two-out homer off Jimenez came on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, with the count full.
“[I was] just trying to see all his pitches," Freeman said. "He threw a 1-1 changeup at, like, 90 mph. I swung and missed, but I saw it pretty good. He threw it again and I was able to foul it off. I kept fouling off pitches, fouling off pitches and, like, the ninth pitch of that at-bat, he got to 3-2 and went back-to-back fastballs. The second one was up and out over the plate, and I got it.”
It was an opposite-field homer to left-center; just what Freeman and the Braves like to see from him.
“It’s me finally figuring out not to try to do too much -- I do it every year,” he said before Monday’s game “[I] still can’t learn. But my swing is always pull at the beginning of the year, and my swing is not that, obviously. So I got back to going up the middle. If you stay up the middle, there’s room for error. If you try to pull the ball, you cut your swing off. ”
Jimenez (3-8) was charged with six hits and three runs (two earned) in 5-1/3 innings, with one walk and nine strikeouts.
The Braves got their third run when Brian McCann scored from first base on Jason Heyward’s double off the center-field wall. The throw to shortstop Jonathan Herrera was dropped on the relay.
