ATLANTA -- With the Dodgers playing under the lights on Thursday night, Freddie Freeman found the gap in right-center and hustled for two bases, sliding safely into second. It was merely an intrasquad scrimmage to end L.A.'s bye week before the NL Division Series, but it had been nearly a month since Freeman had hit for extra bases in a game that counted.
Freeman did not end the regular season the way he would have liked, slumping to the tune of a .483 OPS in September while managing patellar tendinitis in his right knee that seemed to impact his ability to hit for power.
But through two NLDS games, Freeman seems to have found his swing, going 3-for-7 (.429) and homering in the Dodgers' Game 2 loss on Sunday -- his first long ball and extra-base hit of any kind since Sept. 2.
"I feel good, so I think we can be done with those questions," Freeman said. "I've had a good work week, and obviously the first couple games have been good, so hopefully I can carry it into the road series."
Freeman, who was drafted by the Braves in 2007 and played his first 12 big league seasons for Atlanta, has made several returns to his former home park -- but none beyond the regular season. The last time Freeman was at Truist Park in the postseason was the 2021 World Series, his last hurrah with the Braves before he signed with the Dodgers the following season.
As the NLDS shifts to Atlanta, beginning with Game 3 on Tuesday, Freeman hitting more like his usual self in a familiar setting could be the boost the Dodgers need as they seek to take back the lead in the series. Freeman has a .301/.397/.539 slash line in 355 regular-season and postseason games at Truist Park.
"It's always good to see him," Braves manager Walt Weiss said earlier in the series, "but tough facing him when he's on the other side because he's such a good player."
In the final days of the regular season, Freeman was reluctant to use his ailing knee as an explanation for his poor performance because he did not want it to come across as him making excuses. Manager Dave Roberts was more willing to make that connection, and after the bye week, he saw a notable difference in how his first baseman was able to use his lower body at the plate.
"I think that he's gotten into his legs a lot more," Roberts said. "He's moving balls in the hitting zone forward. I think he's as healthy as he's been in quite some time. I think the mechanics are sound."
During the bye week, Freeman was able to address some of the bad habits he had fallen into during the past month in an environment with lower stakes. He felt that the five days off were as much a mental break as a physical one, which allowed him to hone in on specific elements of his swing day by day.
Simulating game action can only go so far, though. For Freeman, bringing his swing into the games against the Braves was the real test, and he and the Dodgers were encouraged by the early results.
"Just more consistently getting myself in a good spot, being able to put good swings on it," Freeman said. "I feel good, my swing feels good, so hopefully I can carry it over to Tuesday."