It might be the World Series matchup everyone wanted to see.
But three days before the Dodgers and New York Yankees opened their best-of-seven set in the Fall Classic, first baseman Freddie Freeman had no intentions of watching from the side.
Despite missing two of the Dodgers’ final three games in the National League Championship Series, and going just one-for-15 in the last three games he has played on a badly sprained right ankle, Freeman said Tuesday he expects to be “a 100% go” for Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.
“I don’t think there’s any question in anybody’s mind,” Freeman said, “that I’ll be in the lineup for Game 1.”
While this postseason has been a grind for Freeman, who suffered an ankle sprain on Sept. 26 severe enough to warrant a four-to-six-week absence in the regular season, the 35-year-old veteran said the week of rest he is getting leading up to the World Series has been “valuable.”
Not only is he receiving extra treatment on his ankle, but he has been able to avoid any running over the last three days, something that he said aggravates his injury most.
“I can still hit, I can do all that kind of stuff,” Freeman said. “And I’m now at three straight days of not running and just only treating it. So every day is going to be better.”
While Freeman had four hits in four games in the NL Division Series, then opened the NLCS by reaching base three times with an RBI in Game 1, the rest of the championship series became a slog for the first baseman. Despite serving as a source of team-wide inspiration, the strain of his ankle began to take a toll on his performance.
Watch L.A. Times Today at 8 p.m. on Spectrum News 1 on Channel 1 or live stream on the Spectrum News App. Palos Verdes Peninsula and Orange County viewers can watch on Cox Systems on channel 99.
In Game 2 of the NLCS, Freeman went hitless in five at-bats. He also determined that the supportive spatting tape he had been wearing around his ankle was no longer doing much good, ditching the method after noticing it put extra pressure on the injury.
In Game 3, Freeman had a fifth-inning single, but was removed in the eighth while clearly laboring at the plate. And even after a day off in Game 4, Freeman went 0 for five in his return to action the following night, calling it “one of the first times I felt my ankle had compromised my swing.”
“A week or so ago, I could get through four or five innings before I was having trouble walking,” Freeman added. “And obviously in Game 5, it started happening pretty much right after my first at-bat.”
Thus, when Freeman and manager Dave Roberts discussed his status for Game 6, both agreed it’d be better to keep the eight-time All-Star out of the lineup.
“Believe me, when I walk through those front doors of our clubhouse, everything gets checked at the door, and all I want to do is win,” Freeman said. “And I’m obviously compromised with my ankle, so if I’m not in the lineup that day, that means the best options are with our guys. And I have the most confidence [in them].”
With a laugh, Freeman then noted that the team is not only 3-0 in the games he has missed this postseason, but has totaled 28 runs in the process.
“Obviously, guys are swinging the bats great,” Freeman said. “So yeah, it was tough. But I think it was just better off for the situation with my ankle … than trying to gut through another game.”
But now, Freeman will enter Game 1 of the World Series on Friday coming off six days of rest — a break that has eased his ankle discomfort, given him valuable time to work on his swing, and set him up to watch from the side no longer.
Dodgers pitching plans
The Dodgers will start Jack Flaherty in Game 1 of the World Series, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2, Roberts announced. Walker Buehler will likely start either Game 3 or 4, with the other expected to be a bullpen game.
In the bullpen, Roberts also said injured relievers Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol are “trending in the right direction,” but will be last-minute decisions for the club’s World Series roster.