Freeman puts on MVP-caliber show for sweep

ATLANTA -- Ronald Acuña Jr. is bidding for a rare 40-40 season, and Josh Donaldson has endeared himself to Atlanta fans with MVP-caliber production. But the heart and soul of the Braves remains Freddie Freeman, who is enjoying a career-best season.

Braves manager Brian Snitker was singing Freeman’s praises after the veteran first baseman tallied his latest multihomer game and drove in each of his team’s runs in a 5-3 win over the White Sox on Sunday afternoon at SunTrust Park.

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“If he’s not the MVP of this league, I don’t know who is,” Snitker said. “We don’t take him for granted. We know we have something pretty special in the person and the ballplayer.”

Miwaukee’s Christian Yelich and Los Angeles’ Cody Bellinger are the favorites in an MVP race Washington’s Anthony Rendon has authoritatively joined over the past few weeks. Metrics will indicate Acuna is Atlanta’s primary MVP candidate, and they will show few have been more valuable than Donaldson over the past two and a half months.

But those who follow the Braves on a daily basis recognize the value Freeman brings extends far beyond what he provides with his bat and glove.

“This is Freddie’s team,” Snitker said. “He’s our leader. He’s the one everybody goes to, including me. He’s got big shoulders, and he handles all of it. His perspective on things is second to none. He’s just a mature individual. I saw the same types of things from Chipper for so long. They are elite players.”

As Atlanta completed a three-game sweep and maintained its 5 1/2-game lead in the NL East, the club was led by Freeman’s third multihomer performance within the past 16 games. The All-Star first baseman pushed his career-best homer total to 38 and established a new career high with 113 RBIs (besting the 109 he tallied in 2013).

“Obviously, the numbers are going to say what they’re going to say,” Freeman said. “For me, it’s just about having a 5 1/2-game lead with 24 games to go. All I care about is winning this division and making it to the playoffs. If I’ve got to keep putting numbers up, I’ll do it. But I think we’ve got a pretty good team around me to take the pressure off.”

Acuna recorded two more steals in the victory, moving him four homers and seven stolen bases away from what would be just the fifth 40-40 season in MLB history. Donaldson entered Sunday with the NL’s third-best fWAR (2.1) since the All-Star break.

Freeman’s performance during this series finale against the White Sox left him with 145 Weighted Runs, which would have been the NL’s fifth-best mark entering Sunday.

So, it’s safe to say the Braves possess three legitimate MVP candidates.

Freeman gave the Braves an early lead with a two-run shot in the first inning off Lucas Giolito. He further damaged the White Sox All-Star with another two-run homer in the sixth. Freeman has homered once every 11.9 at-bats, tallying 31 of his 38 homers over a 95-game stretch dating back to May 16.

“He’s having a great season,” Braves starting pitcher Julio Teheran said. “I don’t like saying somebody is on fire, but he’s on fire right now. That’s how we want to get him and the other guys to the postseason.”

Giolito walked away impressed by the Braves first baseman, who homered against a 1-0 changeup in the first inning and then battled back from a 0-2 count before ending a nine-pitch battle by drilling a fastball over the center-field wall in the sixth.

“Freeman is one of the best hitters in the league, showed that today,” Giolito said. “The fastball after a long at-bat, that was a poor pitch. The first changeup I threw him, that usually doesn’t happen to the first changeup I throw a guy. It just shows he’s a good hitter.”

After the White Sox cut their deficit to 1 with a seventh-inning run against Luke Jackson, Freeman created some more breathing room with a one-out RBI single in the eighth. This marked the seventh time he has tallied a career-best five RBIs. The most recent occurrence was on June 22 at Nationals Park.

Freeman gingerly approached his locker after the game, attempting to keep weight off his left foot which was bruised by a 99-mph fastball in Saturday night’s second inning. He awoke around 10 a.m. on Sunday, limped out of his bedroom and immediately sent a text informing the Braves’ medical staff he was fine to play.

“He got whacked on the foot yesterday and he limped around the bases on the first homer,” Snitker said. “But he wasn’t going to be denied. He’s going to play because of that right there, because of what he means to this team.”