Freddie Freeman had his MLB-best on-base streak at Oracle Park snapped when the Los Angeles Dodgers were shut out on Tuesday night, but he started a new one and was at the center of their comeback win in the series finale.
After walks by Trayce Thompson, Chris Taylor and Mookie Betts loaded the bases with nobody out, Freeman stepped to the plate with an opportunity to give the Dodgers a lead over the San Francisco Giants. Earlier in the night he had been robbed of accomplishing as much when Bryce Johnson made a leaping catch at the wall in center field.
Freeman quickly got ahead 2-0 in the count before a battle unfolded with Giants relief pitcher Taylor Rogers. It ended with Freeman working a 15-pitch walk that gave the Dodgers a lead and opened the proverbial floodgates.
Following the 10-5 win, Freeman said it was one of the more memorable plate appearances of his career, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic
“I’ve played a long time, and that’s gotta be up there for at-bats for me,” Freeman said.
Freeman explained he didn’t utilize the one permitted timeout in the interest of going toe-to-toe with Rogers on equal ground:
“(I) decided we’ll do this together,” Freeman said. “We’ll be tired together.”
The lefty reliever got back into the count when Freeman fouled off consecutive pitches. Rogers then worked it full, and Freeman proceeded to foul off nine pitches in a row. Spoiling a seemingly endless sequence of sliders and sinkers paid off when Freeman didn’t chase a pitch low and away.
The 33-year-old flipped his bat before heading down to first base, where Mookie Betts went over to give Freeman a hug during a Giants pitching change. Rogers threw his glove in a trash can upon getting into the Giants dugout.
Two batters later, Max Muncy clobbered his fourth home run of the series to cap off the big inning.
Freddie Freeman long at-bat
The 15 pitches were the most Freeman has seen in any plate appearance of his career, surpassing a 14-pitch walk on September 6, 2020. Freeman’s 15-pitch walk was the most seen by a Dodgers player since Justin Turner’s 16-pitch walk on May 26, 2014.
The longest before that in Dodgers franchise history was Alex Cora memorably ending an 18-pitch at-bat with a home run on May 12, 2004.
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