Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers joined some exclusive company, collecting his 2,000th hit and becoming the 98th player in major league history with that milestone and 300 home runs.
The only thing missing on Sunday was a victory.
Alex Bregman drove in the game-winning run in the 11th inning as the Houston Astros beat the Dodgers 6-5 to take a bit of luster off Freeman’s accomplishment.
Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA Today
“I seem to get these milestones in losses,” Freeman said, adding that manager Dave Roberts pointed out his 300th homer also came in a loss to St Louis on May 18. “But, no, just seeing how happy my dad, my stepmom, my wife, my kids were for me, it just makes it special.”
Bregman’s leadoff single to left field scored Mauricio Dubon from second. Ryan Pressly (2-2) got credit for the win and Houston avoided a three-game sweep.
Jeremy Pena and Jose Abreu hit two-run homers, while Hunter Brown threw six strong innings as the Astros won for just the second time in nine road games.
Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA Today
Freeman had two doubles to reach the hits milestone and Mookie Betts led off the bottom of the first with a home run, but the Dodgers could not rally for the second straight game. Yency Almonte (3-1) took the loss.
Los Angeles tied it up with three runs in the eighth off reliever Rafael Montero, starting their push when Freeman drove in Betts by becoming the 295th player in major league history to record 2,000 hits.
“Hits mean a lot to me,” Freeman said. “Everyone views success differently in their careers and how they go about it, but hits and average, that is what I care about. If I have a lot of hits and I have a good average, that means I’m getting on base a lot for me and the team, and we’re able to score a lot of runs... Hits, yeah, I like hits, and hopefully we get a lot more.”
Photo: AP
Will Smith then blasted a two-run shot to deep center to tie the game at 4-4.
“We were just fighting all day, and just much better baseball has been played by us the last week,” Freeman said. “Kind of everyone’s clicked, pitching staff and as an offense, so hopefully we can continue that trend in Denver and on the road trip.”
Houston’s Corey Julks led off the 10th inning with a double to right that scored Pena. In the bottom half of the inning, a sacrifice fly by Betts scored Miguel Rojas and tied the game at 5-5.
Smith looked as if he might tie it up again in the 11th, but Dubon made a diving grab behind second base to deny him a hit. Seth Martinez got David Peralta to ground out to end the game, picking up his first save.
Pena and Abreu spotted the Astros their 4-1 lead in nearly identical fashion, each launching a hanging splitter by Tony Gonsolin into center field.
Houston are 38-9 when scoring at least four runs.
Elsewhere, the Cardinals tamed the Cubs 7-5, the Phillies mastered the Mets 7-6, the Orioles sank the Mariners 3-2, the Yankees defeated the Rangers 5-3, the Blue Jays battered the Athletics 12-1, the Braves beat the Reds 7-6 and the White Sox downed the Red Sox 4-1.
The Marlins sank the Pirates 2-0, the Rockies edged the Angels 4-3, the Diamondbacks downed the Giants 5-2, the Rays dethroned the Royals 3-1, the Nationals crushed the Padres 8-3, the Twins tamed the Tigers 6-3 in 10 innings and the Guardians pipped the Brewers 5-4 in 10 innings.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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