LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman's limping lizards have arrived, bouncing around third base and racing toward the plate like a car with low engine oil and brakes. He runs like he stubs his toe with every step. He runs like his shoe is filled with thumbtacks. He runs like he's watching a Bruce Bochy training video.
He runs as if his right ankle was sprained, swollen and burning with every step – because it is. You can see it in his face. You can see it in his gait. And it showed in the way he rolled into the waiting arms of the Mookie Bets after his looping home run in the first inning, a madman setting the tone in the Dodgers' 9-0 stomping of the Mets in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
“I gave it my all,” Freeman said. “And I needed Mookie to stop me from falling at the end.”
Pain, stiffness and general inability to move did not prevent Freeman from scoring Maks Muncysingiel. His journey symbolized the courage of his club. The Dodgers are battered and bruised, but when their offense clicks like it did on Sunday, they might just be better than any team in baseball. There are only four left. The Dodgers are the closest to winning the World Series.
Freddie Freeman went 2-for-3 with his walk, but will he play in Game 2? “Until I hear otherwise,” manager Dave Roberts said. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Freeman helped clear the path in the first game. He was one of three Dodgers to walk as Mets starter Kodai Senga stumbled in the first inning. When Muncy sent the ball up the middle, Freeman had a tough try from 50 yards out to score. He delivered two more hits, including a three-run RBI single in the fourth inning. In the eighth match, as is tradition, he was replaced on the pitch by manager Dave Roberts. Freeman ended the night the way he ends most postseason games: unsure if he'll be able to play the next day.
“We have a lot of respect for him and the way he handles himself,” outfielder Kevin Kiermaier said. “He's an absolute dog.”
His cube is a daily crucible for Roberts. On September 26, Freeman was injured while running through the bag. Doctors told him the injury would require four to six weeks of rest. He returned to the field after eight days. He called the injury “the hardest thing” he's had to deal with on the baseball field. And that was before he started playing it.
With Game 2 scheduled for Monday afternoon and left-handed starter Sean Manaei starting against the Mets, Freeman may not be in the lineup. The quick execution left him short of time. His pre-match routine requires nearly five hours of treatment under the supervision of physiotherapist Bernard Li. “Maybe Bernard Li and I will sleep here tonight,” Freeman said.
“I expect it to be there,” Roberts said, “until I hear otherwise.”
Freeman has become accustomed to this routine. This year, he started doing crosswords, a habit honed by his elders when he made his Atlanta Braves debut in 2010. He is currently 35 years old. “When I first came out, I pictured it as older boys in the club doing crosswords,” he said. “Now I have become one.” On the training table, he kills time by filling in the gaps. But for the most part, his rehabilitation is not a passive experience. The exercises test his pain tolerance and ability to move.
“Believe me, it's not me just laying there comfortably,” he said.
Before Freeman steps on the field, the coaching staff applies splinter tape to prevent his ankle from twisting again. The aesthetics are not pretty. Freeman limps up the earthen stairs to work early in the morning. He limps as he runs onto the field to introduce himself before the game. After starting the game, he limps almost all the time, which triggers his emotions about a limping lizard from several decades ago.
“Ever since I came here, everyone was saying, 'Look what this guy will do, you've never seen anything like it,'” Kiermaier said. “That was in August and now we are playing the most important games of the year. For him to do what he did is absolutely amazing.”
The injury prevents Freeman from bending the joint at the top of his ankle. Every step is a challenge. The discomfort was significant enough that he left the game early in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. He couldn't play in the fourth game. In the fifth, Muncy called a meeting on the mound to give Freeman some respite after a difficult play at first base. He may not play on Monday and may miss three straight games in New York.
On Sunday, we'll face the team that attacked the Phillies in the previous inning. Freeman helped his club land the first strike. The Dodgers realized they might not see Senga for a long time. The forwards repeat the mantra when they face a starter who is making tight throws: “He'll go as long as we let him,” as Muncy explained before the game. The group knows it can force its opponent into action by stringing together high-quality at-bats. “If we get a bunch of really bad players together, they'll probably keep going after him,” Muncy said. “If we can get a bunch of good players together, score some runs and get the bases moving a lot, we probably won't see him very many times.”
Senga was unpredictable at the beginning, unable to control the fast ball or the wide ball. Betts, Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez loaded the bases with walks. Muncy threw a thigh-high knife into midfield. Freeman took a commanding lead, far enough away that third base coach Dino Ebel waved him off. Every step seemed painful. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso cut off the baseball, preventing Freeman from suffering the indignity of a sliding attempt. Instead, he found Betts waiting for him with her arms outstretched. The 170-pound outfielder braced himself for the hit from his 220-pound teammate.
“Luckily I lift weights, so I was able to hold it,” Betts said. “He gives us everything he has.”
Freeman wore something between a grimace and a smile as he emerged from Betts' embrace. He limped back to the dugout. He still had a few more shots to go.
“It doesn't get better,” Freeman said. “But I think we are at a good moment where the situation will not get any worse. Unless I do it again.
He plays like there's no tomorrow. Because when tomorrow comes, he may not be able to play.
(Photo of Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts: Harry How/Getty Images)
