While the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered yet another disappointing defeat in the World Series, the club still managed to make some history in Sunday’s elimination game at Dodger Stadium.
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With David Freese’s home run to open the bottom of the first inning against Boston Red Sox southpaw David Price, the Dodgers entered the record book as the first team in MLB history to hit three leadoff home runs in a single postseason, per ESPN Stats & Info.
The first of three blasts was recorded in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, when Joc Pederson took Mike Foltynewicz deep out of the leadoff spot in the first inning.
While it didn’t count towards it, Pederson set a Dodgers franchise record with eight leadoff home runs in one season.
Los Angeles, propelled by additional home runs from Max Muncy and Kiké Hernandez, went on to win the contest by a final score of 6-0. They eliminated Atlanta in four games and advanced to their third consecutive NL Championship Series.
Then in Game 6 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, Freese was penciled into the leadoff spot for only the fourth time in his career. He promptly gave the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead with his first of two leadoff homer of the 2018 postseason.
Though the Dodgers wound up dropping the contest to Wade Miley and the Brewers, they would bounce back with a Game 7 victory at Miller Park and captured their second straight NL pennant as a result.
Unfortunately, Freese’s leadoff home run in Game 5 of the World Series represented their only run of the contest. Price rebounded from the first-pitch mistake and only allowed two more hits the rest of the way over seven innings pitched.
Freese was nonetheless instrumental in the Dodgers’ success this postseason, sporting respective on-base plus slugging marks of .833, 1.083 and 1.333 in the NLDS, NLCS and World Series.
