Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Praises Freddie Freeman Following Game-Winning Hit
With Mookie Betts on second base in the bottom of the eighth inning on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium against the Kansas City Royals, Freddie Freeman drove a run-scoring single to center field, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 4-3 lead.
Alex Vesia shut down the Royals in the top of the ninth and the Dodgers secured a series-opening win.
Freeman has felt like he has underperformed over the past two months with a .286 average and .842 on-base-plus-slugging percentage through the end of May. However, he has turned things around and is living up to his extremely high standards in June, batting .357 (15 for 42) with three homers, three doubles, and nine RBIs in 12 games lifting his season average to .297 and OPS to .892.
“Freddie knows how to get a hit,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Coming through in that spot, I know it was a big weight off his shoulders and a big hit. … We got gifted right there that errant throw [that allowed Betts to advance to second]. It was good for us to take advantage of something.”
Freeman getting a hit at that moment was an improvement considering his last two eighth-inning at-bats against the Texas Rangers. He struck out twice against their reliever David Robertson.
The first baseman has six hits in his last four games and looks to keep his production going on Saturday night against the Royals. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. PT.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!
