The Dodgers clinched the division with a win over the Padres on Thursday night — but even now, right at the end, they're unable to shake their bad luck with injuries. In the bottom of the seventh, after Will Smith had tied the game with a two-run homer and Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts gave LA three more runs of insurance, Freddie Freeman was looking to add on.
He grounded into the hole between first and second, and Jake Cronenworth made an admittedly great play to snag the ball before it could get to the outfield. He came up with it and tossed it to Luis Arraez at first. Arraez spun, attempting to get Freeman out on the tag, and Freeman twisted, trying to get around his glove.
His foot hit the bag awkwardly and he went tumbling past first before falling on the right field line. He'd rolled his ankle, and badly, trying to evade the tag. He was taken out of the game and showed up to the Dodgers' clinch celebration with crutches and a boot.
The Dodgers conducted X-rays after the game, which came back negative, but Freeman acknowledged he'd sprained it and the Dodgers said he wouldn't be in the lineup for LA's last regular season series against the Rockies. They are, however, optimistic he'll be back for the start of the NLDS.
Freddie Freeman sprained ankle, Brusdar Graterol back on the IL, Brent Honeywell out, Miguel Rojas playing through injury for Dodgers
In some more bad news for Brusdar Graterol, who's pitched just 7 1/3 innings between two separate injuries, the righty went back onto the IL with shoulder inflammation ahead of Thursday's game. It's the same issue that Graterol was dealing with during spring training, when he initially went onto the IL and stayed there for almost five months. In response, Dave Roberts said, “He’s been battling it ever since spring training. Obviously there’s some things going on in the shoulder," calling it a "week-to-week" situation.
Brent Honeywell, with a cracked middle fingernail, joined Graterol on the IL, and Anthony Banda was recalled on Thursday. Honeywell has pitched 14 innings since he was promoted back to the major leagues on Aug. 31 and has struggled a bit as of late; his roster spot was likely one of those in jeopardy when the Dodgers were forced to whittle their roster back down to 26 from 28.
In some hopefully more optimistic news, Miguel Rojas has been dealing with an adductor issue lately, which was revealed to be a tear that will necessitate surgery in the offseason. He received an injection to treat it on Thursday after being pulled from Wednesday's game. He wasn't in the lineup on Thursday night, but he and the Dodgers are hopeful that he'll be back for one more regular season game and throughout the postseason.
Freeman is obviously the biggest concern here, and it remains frustrating that the Dodgers can't catch a break, but hopefully the lineup can still work the way it did on Thursday, even without Freeman.