Freddie Freeman Found Confidence Against Pirates All-Star Paul Skenes

Freddie Freeman was named National League Player of the Week for May 5-11 after a torrid stretch with the Los Angeles Dodgers that saw him lead the Majors in RBI and hits.

Freeman batted .500/.500/1.000 with three doubles, one triple, three home runs and 12 RBI during the seven games in which he was recognized for.

The 35-year-old was limited by an ankle injury at the start of the year, but otherwise has gotten off to one of the best starts of his career. Through 30 games, Freeman leads the NL in batting average (.376), on-base percentage (.437), slugging percentage (.734) and on-base plus slugging (1.170).

Freeman attributed his success to finding confidence after hitting a single off Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes last month, via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:

“It was a changeup away, and I was able to stay through it and hit a line drive up the middle,” Freeman recalled. “That’s when I kind of figured things were working … That’s when my confidence in my swing kind of skyrocketed, was after that hit.”

Freeman recorded two of the Dodgers’ five hits against Skenes on April 25. He was encouraged with his at-bat quality and noted those swings likely would’ve resulted in outs a few weeks prior:

“The previous two weeks, I would probably have rolled that over,” Freeman said. “But that pitch in that location, and how I hit it off Paul in that at-bat, I felt like I was in a good spot. It kind of helped my confidence.”

Freeman believes he is seeing the ball well and not swinging at many pitches out of the strike zone:

“Just seeing strikes and hitting them,” he said when asked why he’s been so hot. “I wish there was more I could give you. I do the same routine every day, try to hit strikes. And they’re just falling right now.”

Freeman being named NL Player of the Week for May 5-11 was the 10th time he won the honor and fifth since joining the Dodgers. He is the 24th player to earn at least 10 weekly awards regardless of league, which tied him with Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn for fifth-most all-time.

Freddie Freeman has ‘fire that’s lit within him’

By many accounts, Freeman is one of the nicest players in baseball and can always be seen smiling. However, Mookie Betts recently detailed the eight-time All-Star’s fiery side during games.