Freeman propels Braves to win 7-4, breaks Rays’ 4-game streak

ATLANTA (AP) – Freddie Freeman feared for his life not long ago.

He never would have known how he played in the Braves’ opening game.

Freeman hit a home run and drove in three runs on a four-hit night, leading Atlanta to a 7-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.

“He’s a special guy,” said manager Brian Snitker.

Freeman was affected by the coronavirus early in training during the shortened season, a terrible experience that led him to pray for his life when his temperature rose to 104.5 degrees.

Surprisingly, with just a week to prepare after recovering from the virus, he achieved the kind of performance that has made him one of the game’s most feared hitters.

“I feel pretty good,” Freeman said. ” Every day I get better. I’m probably at 95, 96, 97%. ”

This certainly felt much better than his performance on Tuesday, when he served as a designated hitter at Tampa Bay. Freeman struck out four times and left seven runners stranded in a 5-2 loss.

“I’m not sure I was made to be a DH,” Freeman joked. But that’s the beauty of this game. You can come back today and change it a little bit. ”

He hit his first homer of the season in the third, a two-run shot on empty seats in right field. On his way to the shelter, Freeman pointed to a luxury box where Hall of Famer Hank Aaron was watching the game.

“I have to show off to Mr. Aaron,” Freeman said. “That is a good night.”

He added an RBI single that capped a sixth of three runs after Tampa Bay went ahead with three runs in the top half.

The Braves broke Tampa Bay’s four-game winning streak when the teams met again after playing in St. Petersburg the previous two nights.

Tampa Bay eliminated an unearned run by Mike Soroka in the fifth and went ahead for the first time in the sixth, doing most of the damage after Darren O’Day (1-0) took over the Atlanta starter. With two outs, Kevin Kiermaier led the tying run and Hunter Renfroe followed with a two-run single that put Ray ahead 4-2.

But the Tampa Bay bullpen failed to maintain the lead of Charlie Morton, who gave up six hits, walked one and struck out seven in a much-improved performance from opening day.

Andrew Kittredge abandoned consecutive doubles, withdrawing just one batter before giving way to Oliver Drake (0-1). The right-handed funky had a chance to escape with the lead intact, but shortstop Willy Adames, slicing through the infield, launched a tall Ozzie Albies helicopter that became an infield hit.

“Those kinds of games are going to happen,” said Adames, who was charged with a seventh pitching error that led to another race in Atlanta. ” We’re going to have to try to cut it and not let too much happen. This is a short season. We cannot be making those mistakes. ”

Freeman followed up with his fourth hit of the night, lining up an RBI single to center-right. Albies was sent off in third place to finish the inning, but Ender Inciarte had already crossed the plate with the lead race.

Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for the save in his season debut.

The Rays denied Freeman another RBI in the first after he launched a trip to the right that sailed past Renfroe’s glove and bounced off the wall.

Kiermaier, running from the center to back off the play, was in a perfect position to catch the rebound. He turned around and threw second baseman Brandon Lowe, who fired another shot home that was just in time to catch Ronald Acuña Jr. while trying to evade the tag with a header.

ROOMS WITH VIEW

While no fans were allowed inside Truist Park, it was not a completely fan-free game.

At the neighboring Omni Hotel, several dozen people watched from the balconies of the main rooms offering a view of the playing field. Others were able to catch a glimpse of the action from the railing on the hotel’s pool deck.

“We listen to the Omni people,” Freeman said. ”That is good.”

COACH ROOM

Braves: After missing the opening trip with colds, Cs Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers joined the list. It was feared that the capture duo may have contracted the coronavirus, but several tests were negative. D’Arnaud had his first start with the Braves, 1-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored against the team that played last season.

The story continues