Dodgers win NL West, but Freddie Freeman goes out with injury

LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman wore a hiking boot and a smile. The moment that all but cemented another National League West title and a first-round bye for the Los Angeles Dodgers – a two-run seventh-inning single by Mookie Betts that further extended Thursday’s lead – followed, when Freeman twisted his right ankle. A frightening development for a key player at the most important time of the year.

However, X-rays showed no structural damage. Freeman is expected to be fine for the playoffs.

He felt it was appropriate to achieve victory in this way.

“We’ve worked really hard to overcome a lot of adversity – and it seems like it’s never going to end this year,” Freeman said after a 7-2 win over the San Diego Padres. “I will do everything I can to be ready.”

The Dodgers watched as a dangerous, star-studded Padres team won Tuesday’s series opener with a game-winning triple play and then celebrated their place in the postseason in the visitors’ clubhouse at Dodger Stadium. But they came back and won the next two, with an effective Walker Buehler and key goals from Betts and Shohei Ohtani in the final.

When Michael Kopech, their outstanding new closer, got Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka to hit an infield pop-up with two outs in the top of the ninth, the Dodgers picked up their 95th win of the season and their 11th .NL West title in 12 years.

“They all feel sweet, but I’m telling you, with what we’ve been through this year, this feels a little sweeter,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I’m just so proud of these guys, the way we fought the odds, stuck together and found a way to win this division again. It was hard fought. We deserve it. Today was kind of the epitome of our season — just fighting from behind, fighting, clawing, clawing and getting ready to win.”

The Dodgers set a proverbial target with a historic offseason performance, signing Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Teoscar Hernandez and, in a high-profile trade followed by a contract extension, Tyler Glasnow. However, by the All-Star break, 15 major league players were on the injured list. Immediately afterwards, division rivals Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks moved to the top of the division.

But the Dodgers didn’t let up.

Yamamoto, Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Max Muncy, Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol all missed overtime. But the Dodgers never trailed in the NL West. In July they were just 11-13, but in August they went 19-8. Every time it seemed like they were vulnerable, they responded. Every time it seemed like they would collapse under the weight of expectations, they lived up to them.

“We like high expectations,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. “We enjoy them. It beats the alternatives by far. People care, they’re passionate about the Dodgers. You have high expectations. Us too. We think this is a great thing. And for us, that’s how it is.” Step one. We talked about this in spring training. The first step was to win the division. We’ve done that. All we can do is put ourselves in a position to win 11 games.”

The Dodgers secured a bye the last two years, but then fell in the division series to a division rival – the Padres in 2022, the D-Backs in 2023. They will approach this October with similar starting pitching concerns as last October. Glasnow and Gavin Stone were excluded; Kershaw is unlikely to be a first-round option. It’s up to Jack Flaherty, acquired before the trade deadline, and Yamamoto, out for three months with a shoulder injury, to anchor the team.

But if Buehler can pitch like he did Thursday — he allowed just one run on five hits in an efficient five innings despite striking out just one batter — the Dodgers could start the playoffs with a formidable three-peat.

Dodgers catcher Will Smith said, “We needed him to step up and he did.”

The Dodgers remained scoreless against Joe Musgrove until Smith tied it with a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Four batters later, Ohtani pushed a grounder through the right side to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. It was his 10th hit in his last 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position, increasing his slash line in that situation to .545/.615/1.273 in September.

Ohtani is 20 for 29 with five home runs, 15 RBIs, seven stolen bases and three walks in his last seven games, a stretch that began with a historic performance and reached the 50/50 milestone. But as he approaches his first postseason, it’s his dramatic improvements in RBI situations that are catching the eye of club officials.

“It was a great feeling,” Ohtani said of taking part in his first clinch celebration. “I hope I can continue drinking champagne.”

Freeman leaned on crutches as the Dodgers began spraying champagne in their clubhouse. He twisted his ankle while trying to avoid a tackle from Padres first baseman Luis Arraez, then limped straight to the clubhouse for X-rays, which came back negative.

Freeman’s ankle was swollen “like a grapefruit,” he said, but he was “optimistic” that he would be available by the start of the division series in nine days. Freeman will remain in Los Angeles for treatment while the rest of his teammates travel to Colorado to finish their regular season this weekend.

“Once they get the fluid out,” Freeman said, “I should be able to go.”

Roberts added, “I’m just thankful he has a week off.”