Dodgers Lefties: Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy

The Dodgers won the NL West Division against the San Diego Padres 11 days ago, but lost Freddie Freeman for their final regular-season series to a sprained right ankle.

Freeman was able to play the entire first game of this year’s NLDS against San Diego and scored more goals in that game than he did in the entire short postseason last season. In Game 2, Freeman went hitless in the Dodgers’ loss and ultimately had to leave the game due to an aggravation of his ankle.

Third baseman Max Muncy, a potential backup at first base should Freeman ever be sidelined, noted that the fact that Freeman was able to play despite an injury sent a message to the entire clubhouse, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

“When you see him do stuff like that – he gets the hits, he makes the plays, he steals a sack – you kind of think, ‘Okay, he’s ready for this,'” Muncy said. “It definitely sends the message that it doesn’t matter what your name is, no matter who you are, you better be ready to do whatever it takes to win this game. That’s definitely a big message.”

Left

Mookie Betts was inches away from ending his current postseason streak by driving a ball into left field from Yu Darvish that would have landed in the seats had left fielder Jurickson Profar not made an incredible catch.

Dejected, Betts credited Profar for his amazing catch after the Dodgers’ 10-2 loss on Sunday, while Dave Roberts called the catch a catalyst, notes Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

“He caught it,” Betts said shortly. “He made a nice play…” (Profar’s catch) changed the momentum,” Roberts said.

Once it looked like the Dodgers had sorted out their postseason problems in Game 1, just like in every game of the 2023 NLDS, the Dodgers managed to score just two runs while their starting pitcher, Jack Flaherty, allowed at least three Runs per start.

According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Max Muncy, who has seen the Dodgers sent home early in five of the six previous postseason runs, was candid about the team’s offensive performance in Game 2, when the team went to San with the series tied Diego travels.

“We were s–” Max Muncy bluntly expressed… “That’s not us as a group,” Muncy said. “We’ve been good all year. We’ve already come back from games.”

Muncy was a lone bright spot for the Dodgers on Sunday, hitting his first postseason home run since Game 2 of the 2022 NLDS against San Diego.