September 3rd, 2024
Michael Reynolds
@mreynoldsMLBPHOENIX -- Freddie Freeman homered twice and drove in five runs and Jack Flaherty delivered a much-needed gem on Monday as the Dodgers took three of four from the D-backs with an 11-6 win in the series finale at Chase Field.
The victory not only gave Los Angeles a six-game lead over the third-place D-backs in the NL West, it secured the season-series win and tiebreaker advantage over Arizona should the clubs have identical records at the end of the regular season.
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“For us to win three here is a tough feat, and it took some big hits, some big pitching,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And overall to come out of this series up six games against these guys -- we took care of business.”
The Dodgers got key contributions from nearly everywhere. Flaherty allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, Teoscar Hernández was a homer shy of hitting for the cycle and Shohei Ohtani stole his 44th, 45th and 46th bases in his quest for MLB’s first 50-50 season. But Freeman wrapping up a huge series was perhaps most important to Los Angeles’ final push for its 11th NL West title in the last 12 years.
“To come out here into their backyard and swing the bats like we did and really beat the starter, tax the 'pen, I thought we had a great offensive game plan throughout,” Roberts said. “And the big stars performed.”
Freeman led that charge, going 6-for-15 with four homers and 10 RBIs this series after taking a four-day “mental break and finger break” as he deals with a fractured right middle finger and the continued recovery of his 3-year-old son Maximus, who last month was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition in which the immune system attacks the nervous system.
The medical staff said it will take four to six weeks to fully heal the injury sustained on Aug. 17, so Freeman knew the finger would still be broken when he returned, but the respite allowed the pain to subside a little bit and gave him the chance to clear his head.
Once he finally agreed to take Roberts’ advice when the manager called him last Sunday to suggest taking the Orioles series off, Freeman realized a mental break would do him some good.
“I pushed back on Sunday night when Doc called me, but I think it was a combination of a lot of things, more of a mental break and the finger break,” Freeman said. “It’s been a lot in the last month and a half for our family.”
It certainly has. Consider the timeline:
July 26: Freeman leaves the team when his 3-year-old son Maximus is admitted to the ICU after going into full body paralysis.
Aug. 1: Freeman’s wife, Chelsea, provides an update that Maximus had been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition in which the immune system attacks the nervous system. Freeman remains away from the team.
Aug. 5: Freeman makes a tearful return to the Dodgers’ lineup after the family was told Maximus would make a full recovery.
Aug. 17: Freeman breaks his right middle finger when a grounder takes a bad hop on him at first base.
Aug. 19: Freeman returns to the lineup after missing only one game and attempts to play with a splint on the finger. He goes 3-for-23 over six games, struggling to throw the ball on defense and unable to go through his regular pregame hitting preparation.
“It’s never easy to have the conversation to have Freddie out of the lineup,” Roberts said. “I just felt that it was needed at that point in time. Physically, mentally, emotionally, there’s a lot he’s had to deal with and he’s not a robot.
“He certainly took advantage of it, and it came at the right time. And I give Freddie credit for understanding where I was coming from and responding.”
Freeman said returning to his regular pregame routine was what allowed him to have such a big series.
“It was just [a result of] being able to do my routine at work, not doing anything different,” he said. “I was able to practice before games, and I wasn’t able to do that last week.”
As he wrapped up his time away, Freeman said he and his sons -- Maximus and Charlie, 7 -- had a sleepover in the boys’ room the night before he headed to Phoenix.
Was that the good-luck charm that sparked this breakout?
“Yeah. Most likely I’ll be doing that again tonight. I can’t wait to get home,” he said.
