The Los Angeles Dodgers responded to a .500 road trip that ended with losing a series to the Kansas City Royals by starting their homestand with taking three of four from the Pittsburgh Pirates, led in large part by Freddie Freeman helping carry the lineup.
Freeman opened the Dodgers’ scoring on Thursday with a two-run home run in the first inning. His double in the sixth set the table for Max Muncy’s home run, and Freeman hit an RBI single in the seventh inning. He also added a stolen base for good measure.
“Four games, to get a win, that’s a big series for us,” Freeman said after the game. “Especially going into the All-Star break, trying to finish strong.
“We’ve set ourselves up to finish strong and now we’ve got two games against the Angels, who are a good team, so hopefully we can continue that trend.”
When the Dodgers and Angels last met in late June, the Dodgers were coming off being swept by the San Francisco Giants. It also represented the first time the Angels held a better record than the Dodgers heading into the Freeway Series since 2014.
The Dodgers swept the two games in Anaheim, punctuated by navigating a bullpen game against Shohei Ohtani to complete the sweep. Freeman hit a solo home run off Ohtani in the Dodgers’ 2-0 win.
Freeman hit safely in all four games against the Pirates, going a combined 7-for-17 with two doubles, one home run and three RBI. Freeman leads the Majors with 30 doubles this season.
Freddie Freeman confident in Julio Urías
Although Julio Urías has fallen short of expectations this year, Freeman’s confidence in the left-hander has been unwavering.
“Julio, every five days you feel very confident we’re going to have a chance to win that game,” Freeman said after Urías turned in six strong innings
“He looked like Julio tonight. It’s good to have him back. In Kansas City, he got the rust out, and today he looked like Julio. Pretty good day for everyone on the Dodgers.”
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