LOS ANGELES (AP) — Freddie Freeman has been a consistent hitter in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The All-Star first baseman though was lacking in the power department for most of the season.
That hasn’t been the case over the past three weeks.
Freeman hit his sixth home run since June 11 during the first inning of Saturday’s game against San Diego. It was part of a three-homer barrage during a seven-pitch span in the inning as the Dodgers continued their dominance of the Padres with a 7-2 victory.
“I’m doing nothing different. I wish I had a specific answer. I’m just seeing the ball and it’s falling in right now,” said Freeman, who has 10 homers on the season and is seventh in the National League with a .307 batting average.
Freeman, who is batting .369 (31 for 84) with six home runs and 19 RBIs since June 9, Will Smith and Justin Turner all connected for solo shots off Padres starter Yu Darvish (7-4). It was the third time this season they have had three homers in an inning.
That was enough to support Tyler Anderson (9-1), who allowed one run and six hits and struck out six in 6 1/3 innings to become the third NL pitcher to reach at least nine wins. Teammate Tony Gonsolin picked up his league-leading 10th on Friday night.
“It just shows what we’re capable of. We’re taking good at-bats and we’re doing good situationally,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’re also getting good starting pitching and guys are doing their job. So, as a result, we’ve won three ballgames.”
The Dodgers have won 14 of their last 15 against the Padres since getting swept in a three-game series last June in San Diego. They go for their first four-game sweep against the NL West rivals since 2009 on Sunday.
Luke Voit had two hits, including a solo shot in the eighth inning for the…