Freeman's finger better after cortisone shots

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NEW YORK -- Freddie Freeman has realized some relief since the Braves' medical staff opted to put some cortisone in his left index finger on Saturday night. If he continues to improve, there is a chance he could return to the lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Yankees.

"I'm going to have to play through pain the rest of the year," Freeman said on Monday afternoon. "But we've got to get it to a point where I can play through it."

Freeman was fortunate to avoid sustaining a fracture when his left hand was hit with a Jose Reyes throw as he slid into second base on June 7. But he continued to battle discomfort and swelling for more than a week and has not been in the Braves' starting lineup since last Tuesday.

Braves hand specialist Dr. Gary Lourie evaluated Freeman again on Saturday before the 22-year-old first baseman received two cortisone shots in his left index finger.

Braves to get Beachy's MRI results Tuesday

NEW YORK -- It appears the Braves will have to wait until Tuesday to learn the significance of Brandon Beachy's right elbow injury. While holding out hope, the club has prepared itself for the possibility Beachy will not be returning to its rotation any time soon.

"With these things, you kind of have a sense of it when they happen," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "It's kind of hard to be real optimistic right now."

Beachy's immediate future has been clouded with uncertainty since he was forced to exit Saturday night's start with elbow discomfort. The 25-year-old right-hander underwent an MRI in Atlanta on Monday. But the results will not be known until Braves orthopedist Dr. Xavier Duralde has a chance to view the images and visit with Beachy at the same time.

Because Duralde was scheduled to perform surgical procedures most of Monday, the Braves were under the impression he would not see Beachy until Tuesday.

"He's going to see the films and the player before he makes a call," Wren said. Beachy, who leads the Major Leagues with a 2.00 ERA, felt some right elbow discomfort during his June 8 start against the Blue Jays. The symptoms at that time provided reason to believe he was dealing with bone spurs. Thus the decision was made to give him three extra days of rest leading into this past Saturday's start.

Beachy retired each of the first 11 Baltimore hitters he faced on Saturday and then threw consecutive curveballs in the dirt to begin Chris Davis' two-out, fourth-inning plate appearance. His fastball then dipped down to 86 mph before he ended his outing by walking Davis.

Simmons downplays great play at shortstop

NEW YORK -- Many have marveled at the diving stop Andrelton Simmons made to end the fourth inning of Sunday afternoon's loss to the Orioles. Count the Braves rookie shortstop among the few who were not impressed by the latest indication that he is a special defensive player.

"Shortstops are supposed to make that play," Simmons said.

Told of Simmons' confident assessment, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said, "Good, I'm glad he thinks that way. I'll hold him to it."

While creating this defensive gem that he is downplaying, Simmons left his feet as he dove to his right to catch Adam Jones' sharp grounder. When the baseball took a sudden hop and nearly went behind him, the 22-year-old shortstop stretched his left arm above his head and secured it before making a strong throw to retire Jones.

"If I had to run farther or go deeper, maybe it would have been a better play," Simmons said. "But he hit it pretty hard, so I didn't have to move that much.

Worth noting

• Looking to add a right-handed bat to the lineup he constructed to face Yankees southpaw CC Sabathia on Monday, Gonzalez opted to start David Ross at catcher and use Brian McCann as his designated hitter.

• Sunday's 2-0 loss to the Orioles was the Braves' second consecutive shutout loss. According to the Elias Sport Bureau, the last time they had been blanked in consecutive games was to the Brewers from June 5-6, 2009.

• The Braves entered Monday having allowed 120 of their 178 runs with two outs. That was the fourth-highest mark in the National League and the sixth-highest mark in the Majors.