Roberts: Freeman ‘absolutely not’ going to IL

Freeman celebrates his 37th birthday by returning to first base following a two-game absence due to right knee soreness. He told reporters that he’s feeling much better after getting a couple days off to rest and recover. It doesn’t sound like the lingering knee issue will impact his availability heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. He’s put together another strong year at the plate, slashing .297/.375/.453 with 72 runs scored, 16 homers, 66 RBI and seven steals across 600 plate appearances in 140 games.

Dodgers’ skipper Dave Roberts told reporters that after a long travel day on Thursday, the club wanted to give him an extra day of rest to ensure that his right knee was feeling better. He is tentatively expected to return to the lineup on Saturday.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Freeman is dealing with a right knee issue, which is why he was at DH earlier this week. The 36-year-old veteran is hitting .136 (3-for-22) with one homer and one steal over his last seven games. It’ll be Enrique Hernández at first base for the second straight contest.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Ohtani is available off the bench and is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday. Tommy Edman moves up to the leadoff spot with Freddie Freeman getting off his feet at DH while Enrique Hernández covers first base. Ohtani went 0-for-3 with a walk and a pair of strikeouts in his return to Los Angeles’ lineup during Monday’s win over the Reds after missing four games with ongoing knee and biceps issues. The 32-year-old two-way superstar told reporters afterwards that he’s going to focus exclusively on hitting for the rest of the season. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Dodgers carefully manage his workload for the final three weeks of the season to keep his as healthy as possible heading into the playoffs.

Freeman had been stuck on 15 homers since July 4 before hitting a ball 416 feet tonight. It was his 383rd career homer, moving him past Frank Howard, Ryan Howard and Jim Rice and into a tie with Larry Walker for 74th place all-time. The five times on base moved him past Lou Brock and Fred McGriff into 62nd place all-time at 3,836.

Another nice game means more overtaking Hall of Famers on all-time lists for Freeman. His 579th double broke a tie with Wade Boggs, putting him in 24th place there. He overtook Ernie Banks and moved into a tie with Reggie Jackson for 89th on the hits list at 2,586, and he’s now in 64th place in times on base at 3,830, one more than David Ortiz.

Both of Freeman’s hits were line drive singles, and he also walked once. His RBI tonight was the 1,384th of his career, moving him past Hall of Famer Joe Medwick and into a tie with should-be Hall of Famer Dwight Evans for 82nd on the all-time list. He’s 107 ahead of Paul Goldschmidt for the RBI lead among active major leaguers.

Freeman was banged up a bit as he fell into the Royals’ dugout while chasing a foul popup during Wednesday’s game. He returned to the lineup on Thursday but is still a bit sore so the Dodgers wanted to give him an extra night to rest. He’s considered day-to-day. Enrique Hernandez will start in his place at first base and will bat eighth against Brewers’ southpaw Robert Gasser.

Freeman, who was hurt chasing after a foul popup, said he mostly fell on his left hand and shoulder, but he didn’t expect to need X-rays on anything and is hoping to be in the lineup Thursday.

Freeman stayed in initially after the scary incident, but he didn’t last long. Tommy Edman pinch-hit for him prior to his next at-bat.