TOKYO — Better safe than sorry.
Despite his usual attempts to talk his way into the lineup, Freddie Freeman was not in the Dodgers’ lineup for the second consecutive game Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs.
Freeman felt discomfort in the ribs on his left side while taking batting practice before Tuesday’s game and was scratched from that lineup. He played through a more severe rib injury during the Dodgers’ postseason run last fall.
This injury does not appear to be as severe but the Dodgers didn’t want to risk having Freeman play and make the injury worse.
“He lobbied hard, like he always does,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He wants to play every day. He kind of prepared to play, but ultimately conceded to myself and the training staff.
“It’s just too early in the season to potentially put him in harm’s way.”
Freeman arrived at the stadium early Wednesday to undergo treatment and said he was feeling much better than he did Tuesday. The expectation is he will be ready to play when the Dodgers face the Angels in the Freeway Series starting Sunday night at Dodger Stadium.
HOME CROWD
The hype video that played before each game in the Tokyo Series featured a clip of Roberts saying, “I think we accomplished our mission of painting Japan in Dodger blue.”
The stands at the Tokyo Dome have indeed been painted blue the past two days – much more Dodgers blue than Cubs blue. The Cubs were officially the home team for both games but the Dodgers were the clear fan favorites.
“I think that’s a product of we’re playing the world champions,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “You expect it from that perspective. We’re playing the most famous player in the world. So you expect it from that perspective. It’s okay. I don’t think it bothers any of us or affects our enjoyment of playing here.
“When you’re world champions you get to enjoy the spoils of that. That’s fair.”
Like all things this week, though, Roberts pointed to one man for the explanation.
“I just think it’s just more skewed because of Shohei,” he said. “Nothing against the other three Japanese players, but Shohei is just such a beast in this whole equation. There’s a lot of (No.) 17 Dodger jerseys here.”
The custom in Japanese baseball is for the crowd to be silent while the home team is pitching, saving all of its cheering for the home team at-bats. That custom has been less clear with so many Dodgers fans in the stands. But Max Muncy said he didn’t really notice a decided home-field advantage.
“Yes and no,” he said. “I think both teams would probably say it doesn’t feel like a home crowd, it doesn’t feel like an away crowd. It’s just a baseball crowd. A good baseball crowd. They cheer all the good plays. When a ball gets hit hard, you hear the whole stadium go, ‘Ooooooo,’ even if it’s just an out.
“They’re here to watch good baseball and I think they’re enjoying it just as much as we are.”
ROSTER MOVE
Before Wednesday’s game, the Dodgers optioned left-hander Justin Wrobleski to Triple-A Oklahoma City and added right-hander Matt Sauer to the active roster.
Sauer was already in Japan with the team as part of the expanded roster for the exhibition games that preceded the Tokyo Series. His contract with the Dodgers included an opt-out clause if he wasn’t added to the major league roster by a certain date.
In order to add Sauer to the 40-man roster, Clayton Kershaw was moved to the 60-day Injured List, a move that was expected at some point. Kershaw underwent surgeries on his left foot and knee last November and is still recovering.