A crowd of 48,178 in Dodger Stadium rose to its feet as Freddie Freeman came to the plate in the first inning Monday night, the rousing ovation marking the return of the veteran first baseman from an eight-game absence while his 3-year-old son, Maximus, battled a rare neurological disorder that temporarily paralyzed the toddler.
Freeman had already fought back tears during a 30-minute pregame news conference in which he recounted Max’s harrowing ordeal, which included eight straight days in a pediatric intensive care unit, and now he could feel the emotions welling up in his chest again as the crowd showered him with admiration.
Freeman doffed his batting helmet and tapped his heart in appreciation of the 45-second ovation, and he thought he would be able to hold it together … until he saw his father, Fred, and his stepmother, Alma, in the first row behind the backstop.
“My Dad was—I don’t know if I could call it crying, but he was choked up and teary-eyed—and that’s what really got me going,” Freeman said after the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
“It made it really hard to hit in that first at-bat, but that’s a good thing. I was OK with that. It was one of the most pleasant strikeouts I’ve had in my big-league career.”
Freeman, who had one single and two strikeouts in four at-bats, didn’t play a huge role in his team’s victory over the National League East-leading Phillies, one that pushed the Dodgers’ NL-West lead over Arizona and San Diego to five games.
The heavy lifting was done by starter Tyler Glasnow, who gave up three runs and five hits in six innings, striking out nine and walking none, to improve to 9-6 with a 3.54 ERA; relievers Michael Kopech, Anthony Banda and Daniel Hudson, who each threw scoreless innings, and Teoscar Hernández and Shohei Ohtani, who each hit home runs.
But by the end of the night in which his teammates wore #MaxStrong T-shirts during batting practice, he got a hug from Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper after his third-inning single and a post-game text from his wife, Chelsea, “that was positive,” for a change, the eight-time All-Star was exhausted.
“I’m kind of glad it’s over, to be honest,” Freeman, 34, said. “I’m tired and worn out. I’ve been talking all day. Everyone’s asking questions. It’s just an emotional day, but when you win the game … I was happy to be out there. I really was.
“I didn’t know what I was going to be feeling, but it’s just … the green grass, the dirt, the fans. It just reminds me how beautiful this game is and why I love it so much. Obviously, the 50,000 people that were here made it that much better.
“These three years I’ve been here, it’s hard to put into words what the Dodgers fans have meant to us and our family. In the toughest times, it shows the true character of this organization’s fans, and it’s absolutely incredible.”
Max came home from Children’s Hospital of Orange County on Saturday after responding favorably to treatments for Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. Freeman was buoyed by the knowledge that Max was home watching Daddy on television Monday night.
“To be honest, it was OK during this game,” Freeman said, when asked if his mind had wandered throughout the evening. “I think it’s more because I know Max is at home, and he’s OK. … We’ve been told [Max] is going to make a full recovery. We just don’t know how long it’s going to be. But the prognosis of recovery is good.”
The Dodgers bullpen also appeared to be on the mend with its third straight clean sheet Monday night. A relief core that has taken its share of beatings in recent weeks has delivered 10 ⅓ scoreless innings over the last three games.
“Things with the bullpen always get more magnified when things aren’t going well,” manager Dave Roberts said, “but for those guys to be resilient and to keep leaning on one another and being ready when called upon, it’s been invaluable.”
Summoned to protect a 4-3 lead Monday night, Kopech, the newly acquired right-hander, gave up a single in a scoreless seventh and has now retired nine of the 10 batters he has faced as a Dodger, five by strikeout.
With the top of the Phillies order—which features left-handed-hitting sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Harper—due up in the eighth, Roberts summoned Banda, the left-hander who earned the opportunity to pitch in higher leverage with a 2.16 ERA in 31 games.
Banda jumped ahead of Schwarber with two strikes before throwing four straight balls for a leadoff walk. Trea Turner flied out to center field, and Banda struck out Harper swinging at a 97-mph sinker for the second out.
Right-hander Evan Phillips was warming, but Roberts left Banda in to face the right-handed-hitting Alec Bohm, who slapped a single to right to put two on.
Up stepped the left-handed-hitting Brandon Marsh, who got himself into a 3-and-1 count, only to have a 96-mph fastball well above the zone called for a strike by umpire Marvin Hudson. Marsh then swung through an 86-mph slider for an inning-ending strikeout.
“I didn’t see it,” Roberts said of the 3-and-1 pitch to Marsh, “but I liked the call.”
Why did Roberts stick with Banda against Bohm, the cleanup batter who has 12 homers and 77 RBIs this season?
“It was more of Anthony is a guy that typically keeps the ball on the ground,” Roberts said. “I felt that I wanted him to get to Marsh, and if they wanted to make a move [to hit for Marsh] we had Evan there to counter. It would’ve been a little bit tougher of a decision if Bohm would’ve hit a double.”
Ohtani provided an insurance run for a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth with his NL-leading 34th homer, a towering 384-foot shot to left-center field that didn’t clear the glove of Marsh until Ohtani was halfway to second base.
Thinking he might have missed first base, Ohtani retreated to the bag and touched it before continuing his home-run trot. Hudson gave up a leadoff single in the ninth before retiring three straight batters for his eighth save.
The Dodgers scored four runs in the third off Phillies right-hander Austin Nola, a rally that started with back-to-back doubles by Jason Heyward and Andy Pages. Ohtani hit a sacrifice fly, and Hernanez hit his 24th homer, a two-run shot that left his bat at 113 mph and traveled 390 feet to left field.
Short hops
Reliever Brusdar Graterol, a hard-throwing right-hander who has been out all season because of a shoulder injury, was activated from the 60-day injured list before Monday night’s game, and right-hander Blake Treinen was placed on the IL because of left-hip discomfort. … Shortstop Miguel Rojas, out since July 22 because of right-forearm tightness, will be activated “in the next couple of days,” Roberts said. … Walker Buehler, whose return from a second Tommy John surgery was interrupted by a right hip injury, threw a bullpen session on Monday and is scheduled to resume his rehab assignment with triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday. … Utility man Cavan Biggio, who hit .192 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 30 games for the Dodgers, was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Freeman.