Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending September 4th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.
In six games last week, Freeman paced the Senior Circuit with an .850 slugging percentage, while batting .400 (8-for-20), which was the sixth-highest mark in the NL. The 26-year-old also ranked among NL leaders with a .600 on-base percentage (2nd), seven runs scored (T-2nd), seven RBI (T-4th) and 17 total bases (T-5th).
Freeman capped his week with a 2-for-4 performance in a 2-0 win at Philadelphia on Sunday. The left-handed hitting slugger clubbed his career-high 29th home run of the season in the victory, helping the Braves sweep the three-game set at Citizens Bank Park. Freeman's previous career-best home run total was 23, which he set in both 2012 and 2013. The California native helped the Braves earn an extra-inning victory in Saturday's tilt against the Phillies, singling with a man on and the score knotted at four in the 10th inning before coming around to score the sixth run of the day in the 6-4 win. Freeman broke up a scoreless tie in the third inning of Thursday's series finale against the San Diego Padres with a two-run shot, which gave the hot Braves a lead that they would not relinquish as they completed the three-game sweep of the Padres with a 9-6 victory. Freeman's 29 homer currently are tied for fourth in the NL on the season, while his 73 extra-base hits are the most by a NL hitter. His 72 RBI are the second-most on the Braves behind Nick Markakis' 75 RBI. This is the fourth career Player of the Week honor for Freeman, who also won the for the weeks ending June 19, 2016; May 6, 2012; and April 22, 2012.
Other noteworthy performances last week included Freeman's Atlanta teammates Adonis Garcia (.407, 9 R, 11 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .704 SLG, .467 OBP), Ender Inciarte (.432, 5 R, 11 H, 4 RBI, .500 OBP) and Julio Teheran (2-0, 1.38 ERA, 15 SO, 13.0 IP); New York's Curtis Granderson (.286, 6 R, 6 H, 3 HR, .762 SLG, .407 OBP) and Seth Lugo (2-0, 2.08 ERA, 8 SO, 13.0 IP); Miami's Christian Yelich (.423, 11 H, 4 RBI, .500 OBP); and Chicago's Jon Lester (1-0, 1.00 ERA, CG, 4 SO, 9.0 IP).
Freddie Freeman will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.