The Los Angeles Dodgers secured a split at Truist Park after outscoring the Atlanta Braves 18-2 in the final two games of the series.
Saturday’s matchup brought some changes to the Dodgers lineup as Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández swapped spots in the order against the left-handed Chris Sale. It was Freeman’s first time batting cleanup since 2016.
Then on Monday against another left-hander in Max Fried, Freeman again hit fourth with Hernández batting behind Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. Freeman finished 1-for-3 with a three-run homer off southpaw Aaron Bummer in the seventh that broke the game open.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he will continue creating some space between Ohtani and Freeman in the lineup against left-handers, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
“It’s no secret that any team that’s going to try to beat us is going to stockpile some lefties to minimize Shohei and Freddie,” Roberts said. “That’s just a way that I can counter a little bit.”
Roberts believes the lineup tweak could benefit the Dodgers in October when teams go to their bullpen earlier and have a plethora of left-handed pitchers at their disposal.
If a team brings in a left-hander to face Ohtani, that pitcher will then have to face Betts and Hernández before getting to Freeman due to the minimum three batter rule.
Freeman has decent splits against southpaws this season as he is batting .243/.332/.420 with nine doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 26 RBI in 211 plate appearances. Hernández and Betts have both hit left-handers extremely well, making it an interesting strategy for Roberts and the Dodgers.
Atlanta Braves make donation to honor Freddie Freeman’s son
Freeman spent the first 12 years of his career with the Braves and received a special gift in his return to Atlanta over the weekend.
The Braves presented Freeman with a donation to the GBS/CIDP Foundation in his son, Maximus’, name. Max endured a battle with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, earlier this summer but has made tremendous strides in his recovery.
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