Freddie Freeman returns to first base against Reds

It wasn’t exactly vintage Freeman, as he had just one hard-hit ball and that barely rating at 95.8 mph, but he had as many hits as in his previous nine games this month combined. The three tonight put him at 2,590 for his career, tying him with Vladimir Guerrero for 87th place all-time.

As expected, Freeman takes a seat with the Dodgers managing a relatively minor right knee issue that he’s been playing through recently. The 37-year-old first baseman missed a pair of games last week due to the lingering issue, but was feeling much better over the weekend. It’ll be versatile Enrique Hernández taking over at the cold corner in his place on Monday night.

Freeman has started the last two games after sitting with knee soreness Friday, but he hasn’t been himself. Hopefully, it’ll just be one day off. The Dodgers have a very kind schedule with four games in Cincinnati and three at home versus the Giants this week, so it’d be a shame to have to sit Freeman in fantasy leagues. Kiké Hernández will likely start in his place tomorrow.

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.

Freeman missed yesterday’s game with right knee discomfort and was limited to DH on Tuesday. The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya writes that there’s no guarantee he’s back in the lineup on Friday. The best read of this is that he’s day-to-day, but it doesn’t sound like there’s any guarantee he’ll be ready to play this weekend.

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.