ARLINGTON — Prior to Saturday’s 16-3 win over the Rangers, Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts was joking that he had given his first baseman a tough time in regards to the 2020 National League Championship Series when the membership arrived in Texas.
That sequence pitted Roberts’ Dodgers in opposition to Freddie Freeman’s Braves, and Los Angeles received in seven video games. Because it came about through the pandemic-shortened season, every contest was performed at Globe Life Field, the place the Dodgers returned this weekend for the primary time since profitable the World Series that fall.
“I do believe I was giving Freddie a ribbing about beating them here in ’20, when he was with the Braves,” Roberts mentioned with a smile.
Back in the identical venue three years later, Roberts was glad Freeman was sporting Dodger blue this time. The 2020 NL MVP launched two homers to associate with two singles in fueling Los Angeles’ second straight rout in Texas and sixth win on its present nine-game street journey to open the second half of the season.
After singling within the first inning, Freeman smashed a solo homer simply contained in the right-field foul pole within the third. He delivered an encore efficiency within the fourth with a two-run shot to proper, a hovering drive for his twentieth homer of the season. He singled once more for good measure within the eighth.
With his prolific day, Freeman is batting .438 with six dwelling runs over his final 12 video games, a span over which the Dodgers are 10-2 and have gone from 2 1/2 video games again of first place within the NL West to 4 video games up on the Giants and D-backs. He additionally grew to become the primary participant in Dodgers historical past to have at the very least 20 dwelling runs and 35 doubles earlier than the top of July.
Perhaps much more extremely: in line with OptaSTATS, Freeman grew to become the primary participant in AL/NL historical past with 20-plus homers, 35-plus doubles, 125-plus hits, 10-plus steals and 40-plus walks earlier than Aug. 1.
“I just feel like I’m not missing the pitches I should be hitting,” Freeman mentioned. “I think we’re all gonna go through courses throughout the season where we foul off pitches and stuff like that, but … right now, I’m hitting the pitches I’m supposed to hit.”
Just name him “Steady Freddie,” as a result of his mere presence within the lineup is a formidable power propelling an offensive juggernaut. That firepower on the plate has performed a significant position in masking the pitching-depth points the Dodgers have confronted all season, significantly within the beginning rotation.
“He’s already obviously an elite player, one of the best hitters in the game,” Roberts mentioned. “ … So when he’s on one of these heaters, man, you just kind of sit back and enjoy. And everyone’s following suit.”
“Follow suit” is strictly what the remainder of the lineup did in producing double-digit runs for the third time in 4 video games.
Max Muncy belted his twenty third dwelling run of the season with a solo shot within the third inning, additionally doubling dwelling one other run within the eighth. J.D. Martinez hit his twenty fourth of the 12 months, a three-run shot within the fourth earlier than including a sacrifice fly within the eighth.
David Peralta was 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs, and James Outman added an RBI single.
In the ninth, Jonny Deluca hit his second profession homer, a three-run blast to left-center. Deluca’s back-to-back sensational catches in heart discipline on Friday highlighted another excuse the Dodgers have been profitable regardless of accidents ravaging the pitching employees: contributions from unlikely sources.
There have been contributions up and down the lineup, and starter Bobby Miller, who threw six innings of three-run ball, took a constructive step in his improvement. But today belonged to the always-dependable Freeman, who used to provide his supervisor nightmares.
“Now he’s in our uniform,” Roberts mentioned. “So I sleep a little bit better, yeah.”
Content Source: www.mlb.com