This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CINCINNATI -- Reds leadoff hitter and center fielder TJ Friedl is in a hitting zone right now that if it keeps up, it could carry him all the way to Atlanta for his first All-Star Game.
Friedl entered Sunday leading all National League outfielders in batting average at .297. He had a .387 on-base percentage, and despite not being known for his power, he had a .427 slugging percentage with five home runs and 23 RBIs. That included a two-run home run to right field at Great American Ball Park on Friday before rain forced the Reds' 4-3 win to conclude Saturday afternoon in 10 innings.
“There’s always room for progress, always room to get better. But right now I feel very comfortable with my approach and where I’m at," Friedl said. "I’m trying to let the ball get deep. It’s gotten to the point now that I am able to identify when things aren’t feeling good that day or if I’m not feeling that good at the plate or I’m trying to go out and get the ball.
"It’s nice when everything’s going right. You should ride the wave when it’s good, but when it’s not going right, it’s being able to identify what’s not working well to make that change. I think I’ve gotten better in that aspect.”
Cincinnati entered Sunday having scored at least one run in the first inning 22 times this season while outscoring opponents 55-22.
Friedl had contributed 13 first-inning runs. It helps that he had reached base 105 times this season, which was second in MLB among leadoff hitters behind Shohei Ohtani.
“It’s part of my game, that’s who I am," Friedl said. "I take pride in that being my identities -- working good at-bats and trying to get on base for the guys behind me and just trying to create chaos for the big bats in the lineup to hit me in.”
Friedl, 29, also ranks among NL leaders with 20 multihit games, including in seven straight from May 23-30. It was the longest multihit streak by a Reds left-handed hitter since Hal Morris also did it in seven consecutive games in 1994.
Friedl has five bunt singles this season, which only adds to his bag of tricks offensively. The opposing infield -- usually the third baseman -- has to respect Friedl’s ability to bunt. Then the shortstop usually has to shift to cover ground for the third baseman.
“He’s hit the ball to left field so well, taking those singles in the hole. I think that makes him more dangerous," manager Terry Francona said. "Then they try to get in on him and that’s when he hurts them.”
"I put a lot of work in hitting groundballs and low line drives to that side of the field," Friedl said. "There’s been a couple of incidents where I've hit chopper groundballs that would’ve been an easy out but since the third baseman was in defending the bunt, it happened to squeak through. That’s just kind of playing the game within the game.”
Whatever it is, it's working for Friedl.