Freddie Freeman playing through injury is ‘huge’ signal to Dodgers teammates

LOS ANGELES Putting Freddie Freemans name in the Dodgers Game 2 lineup was much easier than it was for Game 1, Manager Dave Roberts said.

Dealing with a severely sprained right ankle, Freeman was very much a gametime decision before Game 1.

He went through a full workout before the Dodgers felt comfortable releasing the lineup with Freeman batting third and playing first base.

He willed himself into the lineup, Roberts said after Freeman went 2 for 5 and even stole a base.

He was certainly medicated.

But the Game 2 lineup was released early in the day with Freeman once again in there, this time with the knowledge of what it will feel like to play on his injured ankle.

I think that he is in the same spot, Roberts said of Freemans limitations from the ankle injury.

But I do feel that theres a little more comfort for Freddie, knowing kind of where the floor is at for him whereas yesterday, youre just trying to figure out what this means and how it feels.

But I think feeling how he felt, how he feels today, he feels that he can get through today and manage it.

So we certainly feel much more confident today, yeah.

Freemans willingness to play hurt is a huge signal to his teammates, Roberts said.

Hes sacrificing health to find a way to be on the field.

And then when you sacrifice anything, it makes what youre sacrificing for more important.

I think that our players see the sacrifice hes making.

That definitely resonated with his teammates Saturday night, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said.

When you see him do stuff like that he gets the hits, he makes the plays, he steals a bag youre kind of like, Okay, hes ready for it, Muncy said.

That definitely sends a message that, hey, it doesnt matter what your name is, it doesnt matter who you are, you better be ready to do whatever is necessary to win this game.

Thats a big message for sure.

Its hard to put that into words to see Freddie out there, for us to know how bad he is hurting honestly, its really really cool.

It almost gives you a chill.

OHTANI EMOTION Shohei Ohtani has shown something with the Dodgers that wasnt a big part of his game during his six years with the Angels emotion.

Ohtani has let it out repeatedly after big hits against the Padres and Rockies down the stretch and again after his three-run home run in Game 1.

Winning and playing meaningful games for the first time in his career has brought it out, Roberts said.

I do think that hes become over the course of the season ...

who he intrinsically is, Roberts said.

Hes very isolated, very quiet, stays to himself, private.

But I do think that naturally he is a goofy person.

Hes fun-loving.

Hes a crazy good competitor.

When he sees people having fun, enjoying themselves in moments I think weve seen more of that over the course of the season.

I think thats a good thing for him because its honest.

And I think thats a good thing for our players to see that, man, this guy is not just a robot.

Hes like a real person who has emotions.

TIPPING POINT After his poor performance in Game 1, Roberts said the Dodgers thought the Padres had something on Yoshinobu Yamamoto in terms of tipping his pitches.

This was also an issue with Yamamoto in the spring.

The Dodgers asked him to change his hand position on the mound to better conceal his pitches but the change affected Yamamotos command and was an issue when the Padres scored five runs in one inning against Yamamoto in Korea.

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did you expect anything different? Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodgers rebound after rough start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, take NLDS Game 1 Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodgers closing the door on Clayton Kershaw pitching in 2024 Yamamoto eventually re-adjusted his hand position to more closely resemble his original mechanics while still making it difficult for opposing teams to identify his pitches.

That problem, however, has apparently resurfaced.

Were talking about it, Roberts said before Game 2.

We have some time.

Were digging in on it.

Roberts said Yamamotos performance in Game 1 does not change his status as an option for a potential Game 5..

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