Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman is back in the team’s NLDS Game 3 lineup, batting third and playing first base. Freeman exited L.A.’s Game 2 loss against the San Diego Padres after five innings with ankle discomfort. Freeman sprained his ankle running the bases in late September and has been receiving treatment in hopes of playing in the postseason.
“The thought is he’s going to play (Tuesday),” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Monday. “If he can’t, then he won’t.”
There was no obvious play in which Freeman aggravated the ankle injury in Game 2 on Sunday. He did not bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, the last inning that was played before he exited the game, and in his final at-bat, Freeman hit a rocket line drive to right field that Fernando Tatis Jr. ran down. Freeman did not appear to labor out of the box.
“They told me this is a 4-6 week IL stint, and I’m going to try to do this in a week and play,” Freeman said Friday. “I’m not going to be hindering, I don’t think. There’s certain plays, like the slowing down stuff. I can’t thank (team physical therapist) Bernard Li, our whole training staff, for getting me able to be able to do this.”
Los Angeles slid Max Muncy from third base over to first base to replace Freeman, and Enrique Hernández entered to take over at the hot corner. Freeman went 0 for 2 with strikeout in Game 2 before exiting. He went 2 for 5 in the Game 1 win Saturday and even stole a base. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joked Freeman was “certainly medicated” for Game 1.
Freeman, 35, authored a .282/.378/.476 batting line with 35 doubles and 22 home runs in 147 games this year. He has been one of the game’s great ironmen, playing 859 of 870 possible regular-season games from 2018-23.
