Braves slugger Freddie Freeman has no fracture in his left wrist, much to the relief of the team and its veteran first baseman. Test results on the wrist came back negative, and he’s listed as day-to-day, the team announced Thursday afternoon.
Freeman was hit in the left wrist by a pitch from Phillies reliever Hoby Milner in the eighth inning Wednesday at SunTrust Park. It was same area of his wrist where Freeman was hit by a pitch 11 months ago, which fractured his wrist and caused the Braves’ best player to spend nearly seven weeks on the disabled list, curtailing his MVP-caliber start to the season and affecting his strength the rest of the year.
The Braves were optimistic after X-rays and other tests at the ballpark late Wednesday, but wanted to wait for further tests Thursday before making any announcement.
When Freeman was hit Wednesday, he immediately glanced down for a moment, then bore a look of frustration on his face and headed to the dugout even before a Braves trainer could come out and check on him. It was as if Freeman had been there before and knew the injury and its ramifications, and his reaction sucked much of the life out of SunTrust Park and cast a pall over the Braves’ 7-3 win.
Freeman is hitting .288 in 17 games with six doubles, two homers, 12 RBIs, 18 walks and a .468 on-base percentage that ranks fourth in the National League.
