Freddie Freeman ends Braves' home run drought at 15 games
Through the early portion of a brutal schedule, the Atlanta Braves are poised to become one of the least powerful teams in baseball's modern era. At least their 15-game streak without a home run is over.
First baseman Freddie Freeman, the team's clear-cut best power hitter coming off an 18-homer season in 2015, ended the team's run without a single long ball at 563 at-bats. Not a single Atlanta hit had cleared an outfield fence since April 10. Freeman's second home run of the year and first since Opening Day came off Red Sox reliever Tommy Layne in the eighth inning.
The Braves now claim four home runs on the season — still trailing 32 MLB players entering Wednesday's games.
The fact that the Braves are dead last in home runs among all major-league teams comes as little surprise — they finished in the same position last season and added little help during the offseason — but the extent of their power outage is an early-season conundrum.
All other MLB teams have lapped them (twice) in the home run department. Extra-base hits have been few and far between. While Freeman provided the main highlights at Fenway Park on Wednesday night, adding a double in the second inning, the team's lack of slugging continues to be its main offensive issue during its slow start.
Atlanta brought baseball's lowest slugging percentage since 1910 (.280) with it to Boston, and while Freeman's homer erased the headline-grabbing streak, the team's power problems appear to be a long-term issue.
