Freddie Freeman is a Gold Glove first baseman and has made several impressive plays through his first two months with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but an error in the ninth inning on Monday night cost the team in a 6-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
As Craig Kimbrel was attempting to keep the game tied after his first blown save of the season, Freeman booted a backhanded attempt and it allowed pinch-runner Michael Chavis to score the game-winning run from second base.
“Just missed it,” Freeman said after the Dodgers’ loss. “There’s nothing really to explain. Craig made the pitches to get us out of that inning in a tied ballgame, and I didn’t make the play.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he believed the grounder had unusual spin that caused it go off the heel of Freeman’s glove. But when asked about the possibility, Freeman simply reiterated, “I missed it.”
Freeman had an opportunity to potentially tie the game or deliver a walk-off win for the Dodgers as he came up to bat with Mookie Betts on second base and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. However, Pirates closer David Bednar didn’t offer Freeman much to hit and walked him.
Betts was in scoring position thanks to driving a ground-rule double to the right-center field gap that gave him a Dodgers franchise record for the month of May with 22 extra-base hits.
“I don’t know if we should expect that every single night, but he’s been doing it every single night for a long time,” Freeman said of Betts. “It’s special to watch and he’s been doing it his whole career, so it isn’t anything new to us.”
Freeman confident in Kimbrel
The Dodgers replaced their all-time saves leader with the only active relief pitcher who has closed more games in his career, but Kimbrel’s results have been somewhat of a mixed bag thus far.
Nevertheless, Freeman is among those in the Dodgers clubhouse with extreme confidence in Kimbrel.
“We feel good about our chances when you have a Hall of Fame closer,” he said. “But this is baseball. Baseball is a hard game. He made the pitches to get us out of that inning in a tied ballgame. I needed to make the play, and I didn’t.”
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