The Los Angeles Dodgers fell 7-3 to the Washington Nationals on Saturday in a game that saw the top of the lineup continue to struggle. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman went a combined 1-for-12 with six strikeouts in the loss.
The trio has collectively gone just 8-for-their-last-57 at the plate (.140 batting average). Freeman has accounted for half of those hits, but overall is not happy with his recent results.
“I mean, I can’t speak for anybody else, but I can speak for myself,” Freeman said of the top of the lineup’s offensive woes. “I haven’t been very good for a while, so just trying to figure it out.
“Did the net drill many, many times last few days, but still not clicking. A couple better swings tonight, so hopefully I can build on that.”
Even with the top of the lineup not producing as of late, the Dodgers have still been winning for the most part, going 9-4 in their last 13 games. Freeman believes the superstar trio will eventually get back on track and take some pressure off the rest of group.
“I mean, we got a really good team, top to bottom. Obviously, if we can get going at the top, it makes it a little bit tougher to pitch to our lineup,” Freeman noted.
“But it’s been a little bit of a grind for us the last few weeks. I think we all believe in ourselves. It’s obviously a little frustrating, but we’ll get going.”
Freeman was putting up some of the best numbers of his career through May, but the month of June has been a complete reversal of that success. Through 19 games, he’s hitting just .197/.269/.254 with four doubles, three RBI and 18 strikeouts in 78 plate appearances.
“Yeah, I’ve been frustrated for about six weeks now,” Freeman said. “It’ll click at some point, just keep grinding.”
Freddie Freeman not blaming injuries
On top of having to manage an ankle sprain, Freeman has been dealing with a minor right quad injury over the last couple of weeks. Despite not being at full health, the 35-year-old stopped short of blaming the ailments on his recent struggles.
“No. No aches, no pains, only ache and pain is the swing,” Freeman said.
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