ATLANTA -- A year after capturing his first National League MVP Award, Freddie Freeman produced one of the more satisfying seasons of his career and solidified his place as one of the best players in Braves history.

Freeman prepped for the postseason and bid adieu to the 2021 regular season by collecting three plate appearances in a 5-0 win over the Mets on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park. He keyed a three-run third with a single and exited after the fourth inning with his batting average sitting exactly at .300.

“We always say how Freddie goes is how we go,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “There was kind of a little symmetry there with his season and [the team’s] season. It just took everybody a little while to get going. To his credit, he stayed with it, looked for the positive in things and ended up having another great year.”

With the regular season complete, the Braves will now prepare to begin their National League Division Series against the Brewers on Friday in Milwaukee. This will be the sixth time Freeman has participated in the postseason for Atlanta.

When Freeman was hitting .195 with a .733 OPS through May 7, he found himself in the midst of an unfamiliar long skid. There was even more concern when he was hitting .224 with a .784 OPS on June 9. But he has since been one of the game’s top offensive performers.

Going back to June 10, Freeman ranked second in the NL with a .342 batting average and sixth with a .960 OPS.

“Just like anything else, it’s going to even itself out or smooth itself out,” Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton said. “He wound up where he should have been.”

Freeman ended the season hitting .300 with 31 homers and an .896 OPS. This strong season puts him in some exclusive clubs:

• Freeman is the only qualified Major Leaguer to produce a 130 OPS+ or better in each of the past nine seasons.
• Freeman joins Hank Aaron, Chipper Jones, Eddie Mathews and Dale Murphy as the only players in Braves history to hit 30 homers with a .300 batting average in multiple seasons.
• Freeman and Austin Riley became the first set of Braves teammates to both hit .300 with 30 homers in the same season since Gary Sheffield and Javy Lopez did it in 2003.

Here are some other takeaways from Sunday’s game:

Final tuneup
Morton worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings as he made his final regular-season start and began preparing to face the Brewers in Game 1 of the NLDS on Friday.

Morton produced a 4.50 ERA through his first 13 starts of the regular season. But the 37-year-old right-hander finished strong, producing a 2.71 ERA over his final 20 starts.

While Morton got his final work in against the Mets, NLDS Game 2 starter Max Fried will stay fresh by throwing live batting practice against other Braves on Monday. Fried is scheduled to face the Brewers on Saturday in Milwaukee.

No-doubter
Jorge Soler continued to show his might at the top of the lineup when he drilled a leadoff homer against Noah Syndergaard, who pitched just an inning in what was his second appearance of the season.

Soler’s shot had 117.9 mph exit velocity, making it the hardest-hit homer by a Braves player since Statcast began tracking this data in 2015. The right fielder hit 14 homers in 55 games after the Braves acquired him from the Royals on July 30.

Good audition
Spencer Strider made the most of his final opportunity to audition for a spot on the Braves’ NLDS roster. The 22-year-old hurler worked around a walk while tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings against the top of the Mets' lineup on Sunday. He allowed a Brandon Nimmo homer when he made his MLB debut on Friday.

Looking to strengthen their bullpen, the Braves promoted Strider and left-hander Dylan Lee from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday and gave them both two appearances this weekend. Lee worked a scoreless inning in his MLB debut and then surrendered a Michael Conforto homer on Saturday.

“I’ve been very impressed with [Strider] and Dylan Lee and how they have handled themselves,” Snitker said. “I like Strider a lot. I can see why guys are high on him in the Minor Leagues.”