LOS ANGELES – When Freddie Freeman sprained his ankle during the Dodgers’ last regular-season home game, he said the team’s medical staff told him the severity of the injury would normally require a four- to six-week stay on the Injured List.
“I’m going to try to do this in a week and play,” Freeman said during the Dodgers’ workout Friday afternoon.
Nine days removed from the injury, Freeman is expected to be in the Dodgers’ starting lineup for Game 1 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Saturday.
“I’m expecting him to be in the lineup,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “What that looks like, I guess we’ll know when we see him out there. But with Freddie, I don’t doubt that he’ll be ready to go.
“I expect him to be our first baseman.”
Roberts did even want to discuss the possibility of Freeman not being able to play.
“I really don’t want to let my mind go there,” Roberts said, before acknowledging Freeman would be on the roster in a pinch-hit role with Max Muncy the likely replacement at first base.
Freeman has slowly increased his activity in the past two days. He had been hitting in the batting cage. On Thursday, he took part in the Dodgers’ simulated game – but only batting. He did not break out of the box or run the bases and did not play defense.
On Friday, though, he did all of that, going through running and defense drills under the watchful eye of the Dodgers’ training staff. As he walked off the field to attend a hitters’ meeting, Freeman said “I’m good” as he passed reporters.
“So, I’ve hit. I’ve hit batting practice inside. I did the sim game yesterday,” he said. “The last two (boxes to check) was taking ground balls and running bases. That was my last couple checkboxes, and I was able to do that today.”
Freeman missed a total of 11 games in the previous five seasons. But an assortment of challenges this year – his son’s illness, a hairline…
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