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Dodgers: Frank Thomas made bizarre comment about Freddie Freeman hit by pitch

ByThomas Carannante|
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 13: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after being hit by the pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning in Game Two of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field on October 13, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 13: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after being hit by the pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning in Game Two of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field on October 13, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Frank Thomas thinks the Dodgers’ rally started because Freddie Freeman was hit by a pitch … OK?

The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ offense pretty much didn’t exist for the first 15 innings of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves and that’s the reason they’re in an 0-2 hole. However, an offensive explosion over the last three innings of play could indicate a sign of good things to come in Game 3.

Los Angeles scored seven runs on eight hits to put the Braves on the ropes between innings 7-9, but an AJ Pollock groundout with a runner on third ended the 8-7 affair. It was only a matter of time before the Dodgers’ bats woke up — after all, this was the second-best offense in baseball during the regular season.

But FOX analyst Frank Thomas seems to think LA erupted for an entirely different reason … and it’s really weird.

First of all, Freeman got hit by a pitch in the top of the eighth. In the bottom half of that inning, the Dodgers registered one hit and didn’t score a run. The Dodgers’ first runs of the game came in the seventh. The next batch of runs came in the bottom of the ninth. In the top of the ninth, the Braves added an all-important insurance run on an Ozzie Albies solo homer, which ended up being the difference.

Also, the overarching reason for LA’s surge? Braves manager Brian Snitker brought in the team’s worst reliever — Josh Tomlin — in with Atlanta leading by five runs. There was no shot he was going to waste his top bullpen arms when the game was theoretically out of reach for the Dodgers.

Freeman getting hit by a pitch was hardly a rallying cry for the Dodgers. They managed to hit a couple of of the best Braves’ relievers (Darren O’Day and AJ Minter) the inning prior, before teeing off on Tomlin, who owned a 4.76 ERA in 2020, an inning-and-a-half later.

We love the Big Hurt, but the analysis simply has to be better than this.

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