The Los Angeles Dodgers’ bats broke out in a big way on Tuesday night, slugging three home runs in a 10-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants to become the first team to 20 wins this season.
The outburst did not begin until the top of the fourth inning though, and it was courtesy David Freese going the other way for a three-run home run off Giants left-handed starter Drew Pomeranz.
Freese finished the game 2-for-4 while also drawing a walk, but prior to that, had been struggling at the plate. Freese had a pinch-hit single in the series opener on Monday, but in the 10 games prior, went through an 0-for-18 skid.
He discussed that slump after Tuesday’s win, explaining that while he had a good night at the plate, he is still focused on improving his swing, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“I know my swing is not exactly where I want it to be, especially against lefties. But I’m getting on base at a decent clip, which I think helps, especially when you’re winning ballgames. You just want to do your part. I’m going to keep working, I’ve always just kept working. I haven’t had the easiest road in my career. Just going to keep working. We’ll get back up there.”
Freese’s overall statistics on the season are not bad for a part-time player as he is hitting .233/.377/.465 with two home runs and eight RBI in 24 games.
The fact that he is not satisfied with that type of production is why he has been in the big leagues for 11 years and is known as one of the all-time clutch postseason hitters.
If there is any knock against the Dodgers it would be they have struggled against left-handed pitching. Their .827 on-base plus slugging percentage against righties is the second-best in baseball compared to .780 against lefties, which is 11th.
That is a great improvement from a year ago though, and if Freese can get going at the plate, L.A. should continue to improve even more throughout the course of the season.
