LOS ANGELES -- With a mask over his face and a blanket wrapped around his body, Braves third baseman Freddie Freeman tried to sleep away his pain on a cross-country flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles.
One day removed from dealing with a virus that forced an early exit in Wednesday's loss to the Cubs, Freeman prepared for Thursday's series opener against the Dodgers, a 6-3 win that snapped L.A.'s 11-game win streak.
Despite still feeling ill, Freeman hit RBI singles in the first and third innings, helping chase Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy, who allowed six runs on nine hits over four innings.
"It's big," Freeman said of taking a 2-0 lead in the first. "To take these fans out of it, that was what you've got to do."

Freeman missed seven weeks earlier this season with a fractured wrist, and returned to the Braves' lineup on July 4. He hit .400 with a 1.238 OPS through his first seven games back, but was 2-for-18 with seven strikeouts in his past five games entering Thursday.
Manager Brian Snitker wasn't worried about Freeman's illness. He felt Freeman just needed a night of rest, and for the temperature to cool down by first pitch.
"He got through BP," Snitker said. "And just kind of figured tonight when the sun went down here, we're in a good spot that it's not so humid and he could get through it."
Freeman said he still feels "terrible" after his 2-for-4 outing, but thinks he should be OK going forward.
Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz, who earned the win after allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings, lauded Freeman for playing through the virus.
"For him to do that and be sick," Foltynewicz said. "And still drive in runs and making plays at third and standing out there for nine innings like he did, can't be too fun for him. He's a great team player, and you saw what he did out there."