LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman was out of the lineup Monday night against the Atlanta Braves after slipping in the shower and hurting his surgically repaired right ankle.
“He had a little mishap entering the shower,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Kind of swelled up a little bit.”
got hurt at home last weekend and came to the ballpark on the off day Sunday for treatment.
Before the accident, Roberts said Freeman’s ankle “wasn’t 100% but still, obviously the way he swung the bat, in a good spot.”
Freeman is 3 for 12 with two home runs and four RBIs to start the season. He was scratched from the Dodgers’ season-opening game in Tokyo because of left rib discomfort.
“He feels he could go out there and play, but just let him kind of recoup today and we’ll see how he is tomorrow,” Roberts said. “For the most part, he’s always kicking and screaming (to play).”
Freeman sprained his right ankle on a play at first base in late September and struggled in the first two rounds of the postseason, but it was hardly evident during the World Series. He homered in the first four games and had 12 RBIs as the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games.
in December to remove loose bodies in the ankle.
The Dodgers took a 5-0 record into their series opener against Freeman’s old team, the Braves.
Freeman is hitting .299 with a .939 OPS in 20 games against the team he spent the first 12 years of his career with. He has four homers, 12 RBIs, four doubles, a triple and 13 walks in those games.
Informed that Freeman wasn’t playing, Braves manager Brian Snitker said, “Good.” He was Freeman’s manager in Atlanta and they remain friends.
“I haven’t talked to him, but if he’s got something going on I hope he takes three days off,” a smiling Snitker said. “I want him to make sure he’s good for the long season.”
___
AP MLB:
