Freese extends streak after early struggles

ST. LOUIS -- After hitting a grand slam on May 17, David Freese said he didn't know if it signaled the end to his month-and-a-half slump. But the 30-year-old third baseman has recorded a hit in every game he played since that day, tying his career-high hit streak at 12 consecutive games.

Before that grand slam -- his first home run of the season -- Freese was batting .209 with just four RBIs and a .287 on-base percentage through his first 101 plate appearances. But in the 12 games since, Freese is batting an outstanding .357 with three home runs, 13 RBIs and a .426 OBP.

"It's just baseball," Freese said. "You're gonna have your ups and downs. Some guys will pick you up when you're not doing so well, and hopefully you can pick up some guys when they're not doing too well. Six months, every year, year-in, year-out guys play well or they don't. That's just how the game works."

With his recent success at the plate, Freese has upped his average to .256 after it dipped as low as .163 on April 29.

"He worked out some tweaks in his swing mechanically, but we all knew that was going to happen sooner or later," Matheny said. "The track record is too good to prove otherwise. He just needs to figure out how to stay there.

"That's the secret of this game. All these guys go through these periods where they feel right and see it and just have to figure out how to shorten the periods in the other direction."