When Jurickson Profar narrowly missed out on robbing Mookie Betts of a home run in the first inning on Tuesday, which was the reverse of what happened on Sunday, it felt as if the baseball gods might be smiling favorably on the Los Angeles Dodgers. By the end of a wild second inning, that did not appear to be the case whatsoever. The Boys in Blue eventually dropped Game 3 of the National League Division Series, 6-5. Worse yet, they have some wounds to tend to before a must-win Game 4.
Freddie Freeman, who has been battling an ankle injury since the end of the regular season, limped his way off the field after notching a single in the eighth. While it makes perfect sense for manager Dave Roberts to use a pinch runner with his team trailing by only one run, it is unsettling to see one of the most important players on the team lumber to the dugout.
The idea of the star first baseman possibly being scratched from the lineup with the Dodgers facing elimination will surely be the cause of many nightmares in the LA area. Freeman is not ready to look ahead to Wednesday, though.
“Tomorrow is tomorrow,” the 2020 NL MVP said, per the Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett, when asked if he is healthy enough to play in Game 4.
For fans who prefer a glass half-full mindset, they will be pleased to know that Freeman apparently did not suffer a setback. “I didn’t tweak anything, {my ankle} feels the same,” he said, via Dodgers Nation. An injured star Dodgers player in the postseason is not necessarily a bad omen given the franchise's history.
Can Freddie Freeman, Dodgers recover from a tough Game 3?
If someone did not watch Game 3 of the NLDS and merely glanced at the box score, they would be alarmed by the six runs the Padres plastered on the scoreboard in the second inning. Though, the manner in which the majority of those runs scored was not as ferocious as people might think.
San Diego sprayed the baseball all over the infield, making life miserable for Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler. Manny Machado hit a lead-off single, which preceded one of the most impactful plays of the evening. Freeman dove to impressively field a Jackson Merrill grounder and tried to get the force out at second, but the cunning Machado intentionally shifted to the inside of the grass to block the throwing lane. The legal maneuver worked to full effect, and Freeman was brutally charged with an error.
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Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas, who exited Game 3 after aggravating his abductor injury in the third inning, followed up the unfortunate sequence with a costly mistake of his own. He misguidedly attempted to beat the runner to second, resulting in there being runners on first and second with no outs. David Peralta continued to thrive in the clutch, and Fernando Tatis Jr. stamped the exclamation point on the barrage with a two-run homer.
Although he should not be overly hard on himself, Freddie Freeman knows that the momentum could have completely shifted back in LA's favor if he did not bounce the ball off Machado's helmet. Maybe he can be the recipient of a fluky instance in Game 4.
Assuming he is good to go, that is. Fans will have to wait a bit to see if one of the most liked men in the MLB will be in action in the Dodgers' do-or-die clash with the Padres.
