Freeman reaches second place as exhausted Braves lineup picks up

Throughout his tenure with the Braves, Freddie Freeman was often the best hitter on his team. Still, he’s generally been listed in third place in the roster, following a traditional approach that doesn’t properly appreciate the pitfalls associated with hitting your best third bat. For a long time, there was something of noise and clamor for Freeman to come in second.

In this final series against the Marlins … does it finally seem to be happening? Yes, Freeman moved up to second in the lineup behind Dansby Swanson. This will only be the second time in his career that he has qualified for the two holes, with the first scheduled for April 2011. Over the course of his career, Freeman has taken hacks at every place in the roster but leading, but got at least 25 AP in each of these places, except the second, where he only hit six times.

The rest of the formation moves behind him. Marcell Ozuna beats third, and in a sign that despite the fortunate circumstance of Freeman at bat second, the Braves don’t. You understand, Nick Markakis is cleaning up.

The Marlins lineup is mostly made up of familiar faces at this point, given that this is the series finale. Lewin Diaz, who got his first career shot in his first PA career yesterday, is making his first career start, hitting the cleanup and playing first base. Former Brave Ryan Lavarnway starts at catcher.

Freeman and Charlie Culberson (not leaving), took Elieser Hernandez deep before. Only five Marlins have faced Robbie Erlin, ever – their roster has less than 20 PA combined against the southpaw.