CINCINNATI — In a refreshing change, the typically grim injury updates from the Dodgers brought some much-needed optimism on Tuesday.
Before the game, manager Dave Roberts shared that two-way star Shohei Ohtani “felt good” after he resumed hitting activities on Monday, taking swings off a tee back in Los Angeles. While Roberts didn’t commit to a timeline for Ohtani’s return from the injured list, there’s still hope that he could be back before the regular season wraps up.
“Today was positive,” Roberts remarked, adding, “and hopefully we can just keep building towards that.”
In a bigger piece of news, first baseman Freddie Freeman not only made his return to the lineup during Tuesday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, but he also had a standout performance with three hits, which he jokingly claimed helped him “play myself in” to Wednesday’s lineup.
Initially, Roberts intended to give Freeman the day off on Wednesday due to his ongoing struggle with a knee injury, which would have meant the 37-year-old would miss his fourth game in seven outings. However, Freeman managed to talk his way into the lineup.
“He was joking, saying, ‘If I get three hits, then can I be in there tomorrow?’” Roberts recounted.
As it turned out, Freeman came through with singles in the first, fifth, and seventh innings, breaking out of a concerning 3-for-30 slump.
“It looked good,” Roberts commented. “It looked more like Freddie.”
Not only did Freeman experience no pain in his knee, which has been plagued by patellar tendinitis, but he also shared an adjustment he made to his swing before the game. He felt that he had been letting the ball travel too far in his stance, which caused him to slide in the box due to his compromised front leg.
With that in mind, Freeman decided to focus on his stance, aiming to get his front leg down sooner and connect with the ball earlier in his swing—all in an effort to ignite his performance as the playoffs approach.
“I feel like my faults are I try to hit the ball to the opposite field too much, and I let the ball get too deep,” he explained. “So today was [get the] foot down early, catch the ball out front a little bit, and it kind of worked. I wasn’t squaring the ball up in the game, but I’ll take those three hits and keep that work going tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll get hot.”
He emphasized that this isn’t a permanent fix. At this point in the season, Freeman noted, “I’m not trying to find something that’s sustainable. I’m trying to find something that works for four weeks.”
All in all, with Freeman’s progress and Ohtani’s promising signs, the Dodgers are feeling a renewed sense of hope as they look ahead to October.
