Freddie

Freeman

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.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is shaking things up by moving Freddie Freeman up to the second spot in the order with Andy Pages following and Tucker in the cleanup spot. Max Muncy and Mookie Betts remain in the middle of the lineup with Teoscar Hernández on the bench.

Freeman was pulled from Wednesday’s game after being hit on the hand by a pitch, but X-rays came back negative and he was able to avoid any significant injuries. He’s right back in there at first base and batting third for the two-time defending World Champions on Friday evening in Arizona.

Freeman isn’t completely out of the woods, but it sounds like early indications are that he managed to avoid serious injury after being hit by a pitch, which led to his removal from Wednesday’s game against the Cubs. The 36-year-old veteran should benefit from an off-day before the Dodgers kick off a three-game series against the division-rival Diamondbacks on Friday.

Freeman was replaced by Enrique Hernández at first base with the Dodgers trailing by five runs entering the sixth inning. He was 1-for-3 at the dish prior to exiting. It feels like a workload management decision by Los Angeles to get the 36-year-old veteran off his feet in a one-sided affair, but he didn’t exactly look comfortable in his final at-bat. We’ll have updates on the situation as they unfold, especially if Freeman’s exit winds up being injury-related.

The Dodgers are spaced out third, fifth and eighth in Roberts’ setup here. The lineup: DH Kyle Schwarber, LF Juan Soto, 1B Freeman, SS CJ Abrams, 3B Max Muncy, 2B Ozzie Albies, RF Brandon Marsh, CF Andy Pages and C Drake Baldwin.

Freeman also singled and a walke for a three-reach day. He gave the Dodgers all the offense they’d need with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Los Angeles bullpen breezing through the San Diego lineup when he connected on his 15th homer of the campaign. He also singled in a run, and he’s up to 49 RBI while improving his line to .297/.387/.508. Regression comes for everyone at some point. It doesn’t appear to be coming for Freeman anytime soon.

The two doubles put Freeman at 566 for his career, pushing him past Carlos Beltrán for 29th place on the all-time list. He also moved out of a tie with Bobby Abreu and Carlos Lee and into a tie with Garret Anderson and Orlando Cepeda for 87th place on the RBI list at 1,365. He’s hitting .296/.387/.531 with five homers this month.