It’s never easy for Freddie Freeman to play baseball on June 13, a day that is devoted in his mind to his mother, Rosemary. She died from melanoma June 13, 2000.
So even as he talked about his teammates and smiled after driving in both runs with a single and home run Wednesday in a 2-0 win against the Mets at SunTrust Park, Freeman's mind was elsewhere.
As it had been before the game, and perhaps during it.
“Obviously this is a tough day, not only for me but the whole Freeman family,” he said quietly, the pain still evident as he fought back his feelings. “My brother’s here. I don’t know if I’ve ever done very good on this day; it’s hard to keep my emotions in check. We lost her way too young.”
Freeman gave the Braves a 1-0 lead with a single off Mets ace Jacob deGrom to score Dansby Swanson from second base in the fourth inning, then added to the lead with an eighth-inning home run off left-hander Jerry Blevins.
It was his 14th home run and fifth in seven games, and it also gave him a homer in three consecutive games for the first time in his career.
Freeman thought there might’ve been some assistance on this latest home run. From his mom.
“I hit that really high. I know I hit it good,” he said, “but I think she pulled that one over for me today.”
