Dodgers' Freddie Freeman will keep running until he can't anymore: 'An absolute dog'

LOS ANGELES — Limping lizards, along came Freddie Freeman, leaping around third base and racing toward the plate like a car with low engine oil and missing brakes. He runs as if he's going to stub his toe with every step. He runs as if the sole of his shoe were filled with thumbtacks. He walks like he's watched a Bruce Bochy instructional video.

He runs as if his right ankle is sprained and swollen and burning with every step—because it is. You can see it in his face. You can see that in his walk. And you could see it in the way he stumbled into the waiting arms of Mookie Betts in the first inning, setting the tone with his looping dash home as the Dodgers trailed by 9 in Game 1 of the National League Championship :0 the Mets defeated series.

“I gave it everything I had,” Freeman said. “And I needed Mookie to keep me from falling over at the end.”

The pain, stiffness and general inability to move didn't stop Freeman from scoring on Max Muncy's single. His trip symbolized the courage of his club. The Dodgers are banged up and hurting — but when their offense works like it did Sunday, they might just be better than any other team in baseball. Only four are left. The Dodgers are the closest to reaching the World Series.

Freddie Freeman went 2-for-3 with a walk, but will he play in Game 2? “Until I hear otherwise,” manager Dave Roberts said. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Freeman helped clear the way in Game 1. He was one of three Dodgers to draw a walk when Mets starter Kodai Senga stumbled in the first inning. When Muncy blasted a single up the middle, Freeman had to endure a 180-foot scramble to score. He delivered two more hits, including an RBI single in a three-run fourth inning. In the eighth round, manager Dave Roberts replaced him on the field, as is now customary. Freeman ended the evening the way he has ended most of them this postseason: unsure whether he would be able to play the next day.

“We have the utmost respect for him and the way he operates,” said outfielder Kevin Kiermaier. “He’s an absolute dog.”

His ankle is a daily crucible for Roberts. Freeman was injured on September 26 while sprinting through the pocket. Doctors told him the injury required four to six weeks of rest. After eight days he returned to the field. He called this injury “the hardest thing” he’s had to deal with on a baseball field. And that was before he tried to play on it.

With Game 2 scheduled for Monday afternoon and left-hander Sean Manaea starting for the Mets, Freeman may not be in the lineup. Due to the quick turnaround, he ran out of time. His pregame routine requires nearly five hours of treatment from physical therapist Bernard Li. “Me and Bernard Li could sleep here tonight,” Freeman said.

“I expect him to stay in there,” Roberts said, “until I hear otherwise.”

Freeman has now gotten used to this routine. That year, he began doing crossword puzzles, a habit his elders practiced when he debuted with the Atlanta Braves in 2010. He is now 35 years old. “When I first came here, I pictured it as older men in the clubhouse doing crossword puzzles,” he said. “Now I’ve become one.” He passes the time on the training table filling in the gaps. However, his rehab is largely not a passive experience. The exercises test his pain tolerance and mobility.

“Believe me, it’s not my fault that I’m just lying there,” he said.

Before Freeman steps onto the field, the training staff applies sparrow tape to prevent his ankle from rolling again. The aesthetics are not nice. Freeman limps as he climbs the stairs to the dugout for early work. He limps as he runs onto the field for pregame introductions. Once the game begins, he limps almost constantly, reminiscent of a limping lizard from decades ago.

“Ever since I came here, everyone said, 'Look at what this guy is going to play through, you've never seen anything like it,'” Kiermaier said. “That was in August and here we are facing the most important games of the year. For him to do what he did is absolutely amazing.”

The injury prevents Freeman from flexing the joint at the top of his ankle. Every step is a challenge. The discomfort was so great that he left early in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. He couldn't play in Game 4. In Game 5, Muncy called a mound meeting to give Freeman a breather after a difficult play at first base. He might not play on Monday and might not appear in three consecutive games in New York.

On Sunday, when Freeman faced a team that had defeated the Phillies in the preliminary round, he helped his club score its first goal. The Dodgers knew they might not see Senga for long. Batters repeat a mantra when facing a starter in tight quarters: “He'll go as long as we let him go,” as Muncy explained before the game. The group knows they can force an opposing manager's hand by assembling quality bats. “If we put a bunch of really bad hitters together, they're probably going to keep running him out,” Muncy said. “If we put together a few good at-bats, score a few runs and get a lot of traffic on the bases, we probably won’t see him all that often.”

Senga was erratic early on, unable to control his fastball or his forkball. Betts, Freeman and Teoscar Hernández loaded the bases with walks. Muncy hit a thigh-high cutter to center field. Freeman had built a significant lead, enough for third base coach Dino Ebel to wave him home. Every step looked painful. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso cut the baseball, sparing Freeman the ignoble attempt to slip. Instead, Betts waited for him, arms outstretched. The 170-pound outfielder braced himself for impact from his 220-pound teammate.

“Luckily I lift weights so I was able to hold him,” Betts said. “He gives us everything he has.”

Freeman wore something between a grimace and a grin as he escaped Betts' grasp. He limped back to the dugout. He still had a few more goals to go.

“It’s not going to get better,” Freeman said. “But I think we're at a good point where it won't get worse again. Unless I roll it again.”

He plays like there's no tomorrow. Because when tomorrow comes, he might not be able to play.

(Photo of Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts: Harry How / Getty Images)