close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

Dodgers NLDS: Freddie Freeman, Miguel Rojas return to lineup in Game 1
news

Dodgers NLDS: Freddie Freeman, Miguel Rojas return to lineup in Game 1

LOS ANGELES – The Dodgers have both Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday against the Padres, both returning from injuries suffered during the final week of the regular season.

Freeman is batting in his usual third spot in the lineup and playing first base, nine days after spraining his right ankle in the division final at Dodger Stadium, also against the Padres. Although that was not yet certain on Saturday.

“A lot of treatments, a lot of time in the training room,” Freeman said Friday, regarding his final week of rehabilitation. “The swelling has gone down a lot, so I feel good. Good enough.”

About four hours before game time, manager Dave Roberts said Freeman was still receiving treatment on the left ankle he sprained on Sept. 26 during the divisional game against the Padres at Dodger Stadium.

“We’re still in a wait-and-see mode,” Roberts said Saturday. “I’m still hopeful, maybe not as hopeful as yesterday.”

Freeman said Friday that his mobility was limited, and Roberts said Saturday that there were concerns about how Freeman should be positioned given the limited range.

NLDS Game 1 Lineups

Fathers Pos Evaders Pos
Fathers Pos Evaders Pos
Arraez (L) DH Ohtani (L) DH
Tatis Jr. RF Betts RF
Profar (S) L.F Vrijman (L) 1B
Machado 3B T. Hernández L.F
Merrill (L) C.F Muncy (L) 3B
Bogaerts SS Smith c
Cronenworth (L) 2B Lux (L) 2B
Solano 1B Edman (S) C.F
Higashioka c Rojas SS

Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Dylan Stop on the hill

Rojas is back at shortstop and batted ninth on Saturday after dealing with leg issues for most of the last few months of the season. He left the Dodgers’ game on September 25 and an MRI showed a tear in his adductor muscle. Rojas received a cortisone shot on September 26 and plans to play it, as he has for several weeks.

“I’m trying to calm it down and be ready for what’s really important, which is playing in the playoffs,” Rojas said last week. “I’ve taken a day off here and there, but we think with the play-offs you play the most, three days in a row. Hopefully my ability to stay on top of it, plus the injection of the drug will help.”

“Where we are now is where we have been with him all year. He hasn’t played at 100 percent pretty much all year,” Roberts said Saturday. “I think he’s there now. And we are good at that.”

With Rojas at shortstop, that means Tommy Edman starting in centerfield, and the usual lineup for the Dodgers, especially against right-handed pitchers, with Max Muncy at third base and Gavin Lux at second base. If Freeman had not started, Muncy would have played first base with Kiké Hernández at third base.

Since Muncy and Edman joined the lineup on August 19, a week after Mookie Betts returned from his eight-week stint on the injured list, the Dodgers have averaged 6.19 runs over the final 37 games of the regular season.