The Los Angeles Dodgers are entering the final stretch of the regular season with more than the top National League seed at stake. For Freddie Freeman, securing a first-round bye has become especially important because of the physical toll the team has experienced.
Los Angeles improved to 97-60 after blanking the San Diego Padres 7-0 on Tuesday for its win in the last 18 games. With five games remaining, the Dodgers trail the Milwaukee Brewers by one game for the National League's top seed. One more win would guarantee Los Angeles a first-round bye.
“I think we all know why it's important,” Freeman said, per Sporting Tribune's Fredo Cervantes. “There's a lot of us kind of limping toward the end here. A lot of aches and pains this year.”
The Dodgers have dealt with several health issues late in the year. Shohei Ohtani was on the injured list, Freeman has been playing through knee problems, Andy Pages recently returned after missing about four weeks because of a fractured hand, and Blake Snell left his most recent start after only one inning. Los Angeles also has the oldest lineup in baseball.
The Dodgers latest victory over the Padres showed why the team remains within reach of the top seed. Freeman went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, driving in two runs during a four-run second inning before adding another RBI single in the fourth.
Pages reached base twice in his return, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch. Los Angeles also activated Roki Sasaki, who pitched a scoreless inning, allowing two hits while striking out two on 20 pitches.
The pitching staff handled San Diego without a traditional starter. Brock Stewart opened the bullpen game before Justin Wrobleski, Blake Treinen, Sasaki, Edwin Diaz, Kyle Hurt, Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer combined to keep the Padres scoreless.
Tommy Edman added his eighth home run of the season in the sixth inning, while Will Smith hit his 10th homer in the seventh to complete the scoring.
Having already secured the division, the Dodgers can now focus on clinching a first-round bye with five regular-season games remaining, and they will look to get it done Wednesday with Ohtani set to return after being activated from the 15-day injured list.