The Los Angeles Dodgers were swept for the second series in a row and now are mired in a six-game losing streak, but there were some positive developments despite falling short against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
L.A. scored five runs in the eighth inning to climb back in an eventual 7-6 loss, although it came with needing to finish the game without Freddie Freeman available. He was replaced by Kiké Hernández at the start of the bottom of the fifth inning.
“We had to get Freddie out of the game, he got hit on the hand,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on SportsNet LA. “Fortunately X-rays were negative, so that was another positive.”
The incident occurred in the top of the fifth inning on a check-swing. Freeman stepped out of the batter’s box and was smiling but also appeared to slightly flex his left hand before the at-bat continued. It ended on a deep fly out.
Freeman’s early exit loomed large as his spot in the lineup came up in the eighth inning with the tying run on base. Hernández certainly has delivered in big moments throughout his Dodgers career, but he struck out to end the inning.
Freeman went 1-for-3 before getting removed from the game. A single in the third inning extended his season-best hitting streak to 15 games. It’s also the longest active hitting streak in baseball and by a Dodgers player this year.
In those 15 games, Freeman is 27-for-58 and had multiple hits in seven of those contests, including five three-hit performances.
Freeman Freeman to remain in lineup
Roberts added he didn’t anticipate Freeman missing any sort of time moving forward, which is certainly significant for the Dodgers given their other injuries.
“Even after the hit by pitch, he took the at-bat, flew out to deep left-center field. He was in some pain, never wants to come out of a game, but I just felt it was prudent to get him out to get a scan on it to see where we’re at,” Roberts said.
“It happens, his spot came up with two outs. But you just don’t know how the game is going to play out if things were to go the way they were going. So we gave ourselves a chance to win, and that’s all you can hope for.”
The Dodgers have an off day Thursday before their road trip continues with a weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Freeman also said he anticipates being in the lineup on Friday night.
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