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ATLANTA -- Taking three cuts after the Braves' 6-5 win over the Reds Thursday at Turner Field.
Freddie Freeman strode to the plate in the first inning, receiving a long ovation from the Braves fans as he dug in. Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco took his time settling in too, letting the chants of "FREDDIE ... FREDDIE" rain down for a few moments longer.
"I wasn't expecting it,' Freeman said. "When you got guys on base you just want to go up there and get those guys in. That's what was my main concentration was right there."
Just before the game it was announced the Braves' first baseman had beaten out the Dodgers' Yasiel Puig in the voting for the final spot on the National League All-Star Game roster. He had received a record 19.7 million votes, surpassing Shane Victorino's 15.6 million in 2009. He was joined by the Jays' Steve Delabar, who won the American League vote. Atlanta and Toronto had teamed up for a balloting alliance through social media.
Freeman delivered a two-run double off Mat Latos in that first at-bat, then he followed with an RBI single in the second inning and another in the fourth in going 3-for-4 with four RBI. He also flashed some of the contortionist skills that have become a trademark of his defense, doing the splits to get Brandon Phillips in the fifth inning.
The 23-year-old is now hitting .310/.390/.469 on the season with nine home runs, 19 doubles and 60 RBI. He also continues to be among the besting baseball with runners in scoring position, hitting .389, which is eighth overall and fourth among first basemen.
In a fitting celebration for the first-time All-Star, Freeman delivered in all three chances with RISP Thursday.
"He had a terrific night," said manager Fredi Gonzalez. "After he gets named by the fans to the All-Star team he didn't let them down. There's a lot of support and he came through and got some RBIs and got some big knocks when he had to."
For the Braves, having Freeman reach the All-Star Game was a group effort. They made cardboard signs they hung in their dugout on their recent road trip to Philadelphia and Miami and wore shirts that said "Hugh for votes."
"I'm pretty sure it won't be his last but it's nice for him to get what he deserves," said pitcher Tim Hudson. "Unfortunately it had to go down to a vote, he should have been in there from the start."
His April exploits have been well detailed. So too, have been his struggles since that opening month. But after combining for three games with at least three hits in May and June, Justin Upton already has that many in July after going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI Thursday.
Through 10 games in July, Upton is now hitting .319 with eight extra base hits, including Tuesday's home run against the Marlins, which was his first since June 12. By comparison, he hit .217 in May and June.
He last went deep at Turner Field on May 15, overall he still boasts an above average OPS of .816 and this month Upton is still striking out at a high rate (22.7 percent). But in the past four games Upton is hitting a blistering .470 and the includes six of those extra base hits. Coincidentally, that also comes after he was beaten out by the Nationals' Bryce Harper for a starting spot on the NL All-Star roster, a position that looked to be Upton's with just days left in the voting.
Be it a chip on his shoulder or simply that he's starting to find his groove again after two dismal months, Gonzalez is seeing signs of that April outburst in Upton as we close in on the All-Star break.
"He's had some great at-bats lately," Gonzalez said. "That's the stuff that he can do and that's the stuff that we saw in April. We need that right now."
Remember when Tim Hudson couldn't get any run support? He had, after all, received just 3.42 runs over his first 17 starts, well below the league average of 4.1 and in seven starts from May 27-June 29 had a 2.28 ERA with a .207 batting average against and a 1-3 record.
But after getting 13 runs in his July 6 win against the Phillies, his first since May 5, Hudson again had the bats working in his favor as the Braves led 6-4 when he left after seven innings.
Hudson went seven innings and 107 pitches to improve to 6-7 on the season with a 4.02 ERA and after needing the bullpen to pickup 13 1/3 innings over the last three games, including in Monday's 14-inning game, it was a welcome performance.
"To go seven innings and almost 110 pitches was a helluva effort for us and we needed that tonight after the extra inning game in Florida and then (Paul Maholm) only going 4 1/3 yesterday," Gonzalez said. "We needed that for our bullpen tonight."
Hudson got off to a shaky start, giving up singles to Shin-Soo Choo, Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce as the Reds took a 2-0 lead, but from there he largely stayed out of trouble, scattering five more hits.
"From about the third or fourth inning on I felt more comfortable throwing some off-speed pitches for strikes," he said. "Obviously when you get a lead it's a lot easier to go up there and execute pitches and be more aggressive with the stikezone."
It was the first time he won back-to-back starts since April 30 and May 5.
