MINNEAPOLIS — Freddie Freeman was on base four times in the Dodgers’ 12-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night. Two of his three hits on the night were doubles, spotlighting the swing that has made him a threat to do damage all over the outfield.
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Freeman, who stands 6-foot-4 with limbs like a praying mantis, is known for his elite plate coverage, and it was on display in the third inning Tuesday. Twins reliever Austin Voth tried to catch the outside corner with a 2-and-2 curveball. Freeman reached out and flicked the ball on a line into left-center for a double.
Then in the sixth inning, Voth tried to bust Freeman on the fists with an 0-and-2 fastball. Instead, Freeman got the bat head out in front of the ball and lined it into the right field corner for his second two-bagger on the night.
Few players in major league history have been more adept at hitting a gap or a line and running 180 feet. The two doubles moved Freeman ahead of Carlos Beltran into 29th place on the career list with 566. If he finishes with his career 162-game average of 41 doubles this year, he’ll be four behind Todd Helton for 20th place. Two more 40-double seasons would have him on the doorstep of the top five all time and passing the likes of Hank Aaron, Paul Molitor, Adrian Beltré and David Ortiz along the way.
It’s pretty heady company, and Freeman, who collected his 2,500th career hit earlier this month, doesn’t take any of it for granted.
“It means a lot. Just being able to stay healthy a long time, play this game a long time, have continued success throughout the course of my career. So numbers are starting to pile, which is pretty cool,” said Freeman, who will turn 37 in September.
“You keep hearing these numbers that you’re approaching, people that you’re passing … it’s hard not to take a step back and appreciate. As I get in my old age, I start to appreciate the things I’ve been able to accomplish over the 17 years. Hopefully we’ve got a few more years left to accomplish more things.”
CAN WROBO COP AN ALL-STAR SPOT?
The All-Star Game is scheduled to be played on July 14 in Philadelphia, and the two-time defending World Series champions will surely be well represented on the National League roster. One of their starting pitchers, in particular, is making a strong case to be included on the flight to Philly.
Among NL starting pitchers, his nine victories are tied for the second-most. His 2.71 ERA ranks seventh, his 1.008 WHIP is fourth-best, and his .818 winning percentage is sixth in the league.
Shohei Ohtani? Yoshinobu Yamamoto? Rosi Sasaki? Nope – we’re talking about 25-year-old left-hander Justin Wrobleski.
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On Tuesday, Wrobleski continued his dominating start to the 2026 season by holding the Twins to two runs on five hits over seven innings. After the game, it was suggested that he might want to start looking into dinner reservations in Philadelphia for the middle of next month.
“He’s certainly worthy of All-Star consideration,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who compared Wrobleski’s situation to that of Tony Gonsolin’s in 2022. Gonsolin came out of nowhere to post a 9-0 record and 1.58 ERA through June en route to his lone career All-Star berth.
“It’s cool and it’s exciting to think about, but at the same time, I don’t make the decision,” Wrobleski said. “I control what I can within my games, and that’s not even necessarily whether I give up runs or not. I’m just trying to simplify it down, staying within my process and doing what I can and letting the chips fall where they may.”
TUCKER, SMITH UPDATES
As Roberts indicated on Tuesday, right fielder Kyle Tucker was out of the lineup again on Wednesday. Tucker was felled by lower back spasms just one inning into the series on Monday night and hasn’t played since. On Wednesday, Tucker took swings in the indoor batting cage at Target Field as he works his way back.
“He won’t hit on the field, which he really never does,” Roberts said before Wednesday’s game. “But, yeah, he’s going to kind of get his body moving. And we’ll see where we’re at on Friday.”
Roberts also noted that catcher Will Smith, who has been out since May 30 with neck inflammation, has not resumed baseball activities and will not join the team for the balance of the current trip, which includes stops in San Diego and Sacramento.
OHTANI’S POWER MONTH
Ohtani’s home run on Monday night was his seventh this June, which should come as no surprise to longtime followers of the Dodgers slugger. Ohtani has 69 career home runs in June, by far his most prolific month, followed by 53 in May and 47 in August. It’s a small sample size and might be a fluke, statistically, a product of the weather getting warmer around the league as spring turns to summer. Roberts has a more nuts-and-bolts explanation for his latest surge.
“He’s controlling the zone. There’s a lot of balls down low that he’s not chasing,” Roberts said. “He’s getting into good counts, and when it is in his favor, he’s putting good swings on it. When he can do that, there’s just no one better.”
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Roki Sasaki, 3-4, 4.76 ERA) at Padres (RHP Walker Buehler, 4-3, 3.96 ERA), Friday, 6:45 p.m., Apple TV, 570 AM
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