Freddie Freeman’s night ended early Wednesday, and the Dodgers were left waiting to see whether the move was simply precautionary or something more.
The Los Angeles first baseman was removed from the game against the Chicago Cubs in the bottom of the fifth inning after an awkward check swing in the top of the frame. Freeman was visibly wincing and looked toward his wrist before finishing the at-bat with a flyout. He went 1-for-3 before being lifted.
Kiké Hernández took over at first base after four-and-a-half innings. Freeman was the only starter to exit in the fifth.
The timing came with the Dodgers already trailing 6-1 and staring at the possibility of a sixth straight loss. They had dropped five in a row entering Wednesday, and Tuesday’s 5-1 defeat had already pushed them into a season-high skid.
Freeman had given Los Angeles something to build on earlier in the game, extending his hitting streak to 15 games with a single to left field in the third inning. He entered the day batting .310, which ranks third in the National League behind Luis Arraez of the Philadelphia Phillies and Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins.
Manager Dave Roberts has not been shy this season about pulling veteran regulars early when games get out of hand. But this one sat in a slightly different spot: the Dodgers were still within five runs and badly needed a win to stop the slide.
There was also a built-in cushion in the schedule. Los Angeles has Thursday off, giving Freeman and the rest of the club a full day-plus to recover after Wednesday’s day game.
After Tuesday’s loss, Roberts tried to calm any talk of alarm inside the clubhouse.
“There’s certainly no panic,” Roberts said. “We’ve been through a lot of these things, this core group of guys. I think that you just got to kind of reset, flush it, find a way to win a game, and not let it just compound.
“It never feels good to lose. But we’ve still got good players. … My focus right now is just forget about these last five games and be ready for [Wednesday].”
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