By admin 
LOS ANGELES – If the Dodgers are going to quiet the skeptics who saw their offense go into hibernation while losing 14 of 16 games against would-be playoff teams in the second half of the season, getting Freddie Freeman back to his old self would be a good step.
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There wasn’t much to celebrate in their performance at the plate in a 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Sunday night, but at least they could take some hope from the fact that Freeman hit a homer.
“It’s going to take all of us so you can’t just worry about one person, but obviously having Freddie going is definitely a huge help,” shortstop Mookie Betts said.
Freeman finished the regular season with exactly one homer in his last 66 games and 277 plate appearances, a jarring power outage for a player who has homered about once every six games throughout his career.
His fourth-inning homer against right-hander Grant Holmes was his first homer since Sept. 2.
Freeman said he had done some good work during the five off days the Dodgers had leading up to this series.
“Just more consistently getting myself in a good spot, with the good swings on it,” Freeman said. “Even the strikeout in my last at-bat, I’m OK with that. Those were some nasty pitches dotted at the bottom of the zone. There’s nothing sometimes you can do about it. So I feel good, my swing feels good, so hopefully I can carry it over to Tuesday.”
On Tuesday, Freeman and the Dodgers will have to deal with Braves ace left-hander Chris Sale, who shut them out in Atlanta in late August. Freeman had one of the Dodgers’ five hits that night.
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Freeman had two of the Dodgers’ six hits on Sunday night, including a single in the second inning against Braves left-handed opener Ray Kerr.
After the homer, he had a chance to do some damage again when he came up with two on and one out in the fifth, but he hit a flyout to left. Freeman struck out in the eighth.
He’s started this postseason with three hits and a walk in his first eight trips to the plate.
The Dodgers are used to having Freeman be an October hero, with much of the damage coming via homers. Freeman hit six homers during the Dodgers’ championship runs in 2024 and 2025, including his iconic walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series.
He went on to win the MVP of the 2024 World Series.
He did all of that while dealing with a bad ankle that required hours of prep each day just to get him on the field.
This time around Freeman had been nagged by a sore right knee in September. He said it’s nothing compared to the ankle injury, but it’s still fair to wonder if the knee issue led to any swing changes that impacted his swing, reducing his power.
Freeman, 37, insisted after Sunday’s game that he’s fine.
“I feel good,” Freeman said. “So I think we can be done with those questions. I’ve had a good work week and obviously the first couple of games have been good, so hopefully I can carry it into the into the road series.”
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This story was originally published October 4, 2026 at 9:38 PM.