Freddie Freeman Calls Swing ‘Work In Progress’ Despite Walk-Off Hit

The Los Angeles Dodgers concluded their homestand with a 4-3 walk-off win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday thanks to Freddie Freeman’s clutch two-run base hit in the ninth inning.

The rally started when Mookie Betts reached on a two-out infield single. Shohei Ohtani was then intentionally walked before Esteury Ruiz drew a free pass to load the bases.

After falling behind in the count, Freeman went the other way for an opposite-field single off Griffin Jax. It was a satisfying result for the nine-time All-Star as he continues to work on getting his swing right.

“I wouldn’t say I fixed it,” Freeman said after the game. “There’s a lot of slices and pushes to left field. It’s a work in progress, but that last one looked a lot better.

“I haven’t hit a line drive to left field in a long time, so hopefully we can build on that going into Friday.”

Freeman explained his approach during the at-bat and noted how it needed to change after taking fastballs.

“What I was thinking about what I was looking for. He didn’t throw what I was looking for the first couple pitches, and I took the heaters pretty much down the middle,” Freeman explained.

“After those and I took the slider, I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to change my plan here.’ So I changed it to the heater. Credit to all the guys getting on base and Tyler was amazing today.”

Freeman now has 16 walk-off hits in his career, the most of any active player in the Majors. He finished the game 2-for-5 with a run scored and also stole his 100th career base in the seventh inning.

Freddie Freeman downplays individual success

When asked how big of a hit that was for him, Freeman deflected and put the focus on the Dodgers winning their rubber match with the Twins.

“It’s more of that was a huge win for us,” Freeman began. “A series win. Good game on both sides, a well-played baseball game, good pitching.

“They’ve got a really good staff over there and bullpen. Back and forth in the later innings, and glad we were able to pull that one out. We needed that one.”