The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled Josh Fields and optioned Mike Freeman to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Freeman went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in his first stint with the Dodgers. Three of Freeman’s at-bats came as a pinch-hitter, and the other two were Friday night when he replaced Justin Turner.
The Dodgers claimed Freeman off waivers from the Seattle Mariners near the end of May and immediately optioned him to Oklahoma City. Freeman hit .295/.338/.361 with two doubles, one triple and four RBI over 20 games with Oklahoma City prior to being recalled June 25.
Fields returns 12 days after being sent down to “reset” following a string of subpar outings. Fields yielded a 1.92 ERA in April and 0.63 ERA in May, but that ballooned to 11.12 in six appearances during June.
The right-hander surrendered a combined five home runs in four his last five outings, including a homer in three consecutive games, before getting optioned. Up to that point, Fields had allowed just one home run in 22.1 innings over 16 appearances.
Fields was optioned to Oklahoma City on April 29 but didn’t so much as report to the affiliate, as he rejoined the Dodgers two days later to replace a then-injured Hyun-Jin Ryu on the active roster.
On the season, Fields is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA, 4.55 FIP and 1.04 WHIP in 27 games. He has 32 strikeouts to eight walks over 27 innings pitched. Fields should provide some relief considering Sergio Romo threw 39 pitches on Friday night, retiring just three of eight batters faced.
