Freddie Freeman broke out of his slump in a big way Tuesday night to help the Los Angeles Dodgers even their series with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Freeman, who entered the matchup hitless over his last 16 at-bats, gave the Dodgers an early lead with a two-run homer in the first inning. Then in the sixth, he added a second blast of the night to give him his first multi-home run game of the season.
After tying the score, Freeman celebrated with his teammates before giving a high-five to his father sitting by the Dodgers dugout.
The nine-time All-Star gave credit to his dad for helping him get back on track at the plate, via Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
Freeman has been under the weather the past several days, and the 0-for-16 skid he brought into Tuesday probably grated on him more than anything he was going through physically. But he snapped out of that funk by focusing on finishing high with his swing, and having some quality time with his dad probably didn’t hurt, either — although the elder Freeman didn’t give his son any swing advice.
“Dad’s all about being positive,” Freeman said with a smile.
Freeman got to spend some time with his father over the weekend when the Dodgers faced the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. Freeman’s dad, Fred, lives in Orange County and always makes an effort to watch as many of his son’s games as possible.
Freeman believes his father has been a good luck charm and hopes he makes another trip to Petco Park for the series finale on Wednesday.
“I seem to do pretty good when he’s up close,” Freeman said. “I don’t know if he’s going to be here tomorrow, but I might have to force him to stay.”
Freeman has praised his father on several occasions over the years for being instrumental to his success as a baseball player. Fred previously was credited by his son for a big game at Petco Park back in 2022.
The 36-year-old now looks to keep it going when the Dodgers and Padres meet in a rubber match on Wednesday that will also decide first place in the National League West.
Freddie Freeman’s 2026 stats
Freeman has put up solid numbers this year despite his overall production dropping from his first four seasons with the Dodgers.
After his 2-for-4 performance against the Padres, he’s hitting .260/.342/.435 with 11 doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI in 199 plate appearances across 46 games.
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