NEW YORK – Now perhaps more than ever, as Freddie Freeman goes, so goes the Braves offense.
And when he sizzles like he has been lately, what has been an extremely anemic offense for most of the season suddenly looks capable of competing.
Freeman was 13-for-23 (.565) with seven extra-base hits (three home runs), seven RBIs, .600 OBP and 1.174 slugging percentage in the past five games before Saturday, including three consecutive games with at least three hits — all Braves wins.
This after batting .195 with eight extra-base hits (three homers), eight RBIs and a .279 OBP and .327 slugging percentage in his previous 30 games.
“It means a lot. Means everything to our offense when he’s doing what he’s capable of doing like this,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. “You talk about guys trying too hard, relaxing, taking pressure off – he can do that for a whole club when he’s swinging the bat.”
During the month of May, the Braves ranked 13th in the National League in batting average (.228), 14th in runs (86 in 28 games) and last in OPS (.627). For the month of June, the Braves entered Saturday ranked seventh in the NL in average (.254), tied for eighth in runs (61 in 16 games), and 11th in OPS (.687).
Others have contributed plenty to the upgrade, including a resurgent Adonis Garcia, a healthy Ender Inciarte and a much-improved Erick Aybar. But make no mistake, the proverbial straw that stirs this drink is Freeman, and he’s the biggest reason for the June strides made by the Braves offense.
Freeman had a .339 average (20-for-59) with 11 extra-base hits (four homers) in 16 June games before Saturday, with 10 RBIs, a .423 OBP and .695 slugging percentage. This after batting .245 with five homers and eight RBIs in 28 May games, with a .314 OBP and .427 slugging percentage.
“He’s our 3-hole guy. He’s the big dog,” Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said when asked about Freeman’s impact. “He’s a power threat, he’s an RBI guy. Has no weaknesses. When you struggle every day like he’s been struggling (for much of the season), everybody puts that much more pressure on themselves. I’m just glad, he’s been banged up quite a bit and not able to try and do too much, and just using his hands, and now everything’s starting to come together.
“It’s amazing what happens when guys aren’t trying to do too much.”
Freeman homered earlier in the week on an inside fastball that replays made look even more impressive than the crushed long ball had looked in real speed.
“Oh my God, the ball he hit out?” Seitzer said. “Painted on the inside corner. I told Nachy (assistant hitting coach Jose Castro, look at this. How do you get to that pitch, No. 1. Keep it fair, No. 2. And then hit it out, No. 3?”
When Freeman’s going, he’s one of the limited group of major league hitters who can legitimately carry an offense.
“Absolutely,” Snitker said. “He can do it, I’ve seen him do it, he did it when I was here before (as third-base coach). He’s the guy. He can do just that.”
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