SAN DIEGO -- No matter your age, it can be difficult not to feel like a little kid again around your parents. Especially when your day job is playing a kid's game.
Look no further than Freddie Freeman, whose second homer of Tuesday night's game at Petco Park tied up the Dodgers' eventual 5-4 win in the sixth inning.
Freeman had opened the scoring with his first long ball of the contest, going the other way for a two-run blast off Griffin Canning in the first inning. After he pulled a solo shot off Jeremiah Estrada to right field in the sixth, Freeman made his way through the dugout, receiving congratulations from his teammates before making his way to a familiar face in the stands: his dad, Fred.
Through the net, Freeman slapped palms with his dad to finish the procession of celebratory high-fives.
Freeman has been under the weather the past several days, and the 0-for-16 skid he brought into Tuesday probably grated on him more than anything he was going through physically. But he snapped out of that funk by focusing on finishing high with his swing, and having some quality time with his dad probably didn't hurt, either -- although the elder Freeman didn't give his son any swing advice.
"Dad's all about being positive," Freeman said with a smile.
Since the Dodgers played in Anaheim before traveling to San Diego, Freeman's dad -- who lives in Orange County -- drove his son to work on Sunday night. Having him seated in the front row on Tuesday was the cherry on top of a breakthrough night at the plate for Freeman.
And in an ideal world, Freeman would love to have his dad seated in the same spot for Wednesday night's rubber game against the Padres.
"I seem to do pretty good when he's up close," Freeman said. "I don't know if he's going to be here tomorrow, but I might have to force him to stay."