ATLANTA – Freddie Freeman is delighted to have the Atlanta Braves in first place to begin the final month of the regular season.
It sure beats the drudgery of losing at least 90 games in each of the past three years.
“When you go to spring training every year, that’s all you can ask for, and here we are playing meaningful games with a three-game lead,” the veteran first baseman said. “That’s what we want to be playing for. It’s a lot of fun.”
Freeman hit a tiebreaking RBI double in Atlanta’s four-run eighth inning, and the NL East-leading Braves rallied to snap a three-game skid and beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 Saturday night.
The Braves had dropped five of six overall and seven of eight at home, but they got the rally going in the eighth when Dansby Swanson’s 14th homer of the season cut the Pirates’ lead to 3-2.