Freddie Freeman has been nothing short of spectacular in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he is among those currently scuffling a bit at the plate.
The six-time All-Star is hitting just .250/.346/.364 over his last 12 games, which is a far cry from the production he put up during the first half of the regular season.
Coming off back-to-back hitless performances, Freeman went 2-for-5 with a double and home run in the Dodgers’ 4-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.
The 32-year-old noted he has been working hard to break out of his slump and believes his timing is coming back, via SportsNet LA:
“I think my expectations of myself are quite high. I know I — in my opinion — have been treading water for a couple weeks. Obviously I was extremely hot before the break, and then you go through this period. I’ve been able to squeak out a single here and there, but it’s nice to make some left turns at first base. I worked really hard down in the cage early this afternoon, just trying to be more on time. I still was a little late on some pitches and still missed some pitches I should’ve hit, but we’re working in the right direction.”
Despite his struggles of late, Freeman is batting a stellar .321/.398/.524 with a league-leading 142 hits and 38 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs and 73 RBI in 510 plate appearances. He additionally has been in the Dodgers lineup for all 114 games thus far.
Freeman has already accumulated 4.7 WAR, which is his fourth-highest total since entering the league in 2010.
Freddie Freeman will get first game off after Dodgers clinch NL West
Freeman and Trea Turner are the only Dodgers players who have started in every game this season, but that figures to change after the team clinches the National League West.
“I know Freddie’s always talked about once we clinch this thing, he would like to have a day off,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said. “So I don’t see 162, and I think Trea will probably be in that same category.”
The Dodgers are likely looking at a mid-September clinch day, which would give Roberts a few weeks’ worth of games to start resting players before the playoffs begin in early October.
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