Freeman returns home to be with family as son is hospitalized

HOUSTON -- Dodgers superstar first baseman Freddie Freeman left Houston before Friday's series opener, returning home to Los Angeles due to a family matter.

On Thursday, Freeman’s wife Chelsea announced on Instagram that their three-year old son Maximus was hospitalized as he battled transient synovitis, an illness that has progressed from a viral infection Maximus came down with at the All-Star Game in Texas.

Freeman made the trip with the Dodgers and went through his pregame routine, but was later scratched from the lineup two hours before the 5-0 loss to the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

There’s no timetable for Freeman’s return, though he won’t be back with the team until Tuesday at the earliest. Right now, the Dodgers and Freeman want to prioritize being with his family during a difficult time.

"He’s gonna get back and obviously the last few days, he hasn’t been here,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Emotionally, it’s been certainly hard for him. He needs to be with his family."

Freeman was seen running out of the Dodgers’ clubhouse immediately after Tuesday’s win over the Giants. The following day, Chelsea announced the news regarding their son. When approached on Friday, an understandably visibly distraught Freeman went back into the Dodgers’ dining room without any comment.

Chelsea wrote on Instagram Thursday. *"Max update: We ended up taking him to the ER last night. Freddie met me straight from the game. He stopped eating or drinking and was very lethargic. It took 2 attempts to get IV in and Max was so brave he didn’t even cry. They ran a ton of tests and bloodwork panels that thank God they all came back negative. No infection or active virus. They hydrated him and gave him anti inflammatory medicine through IV. Took x-rays and ultrasound. Everything is consistent with transient synovitis. He still cannot bear any weight or stand or walk, so we will be closely monitoring him.*

*"If he doesn’t improve in 48 hrs he needs to go back to the hospital. We got discharged around 3:30 am. The children's hospital staff were amazing. There is really nothing worse than seeing your child in pain. My heart breaks for all the families that have it worse. Thank you so much for the prayers.”*

On Saturday, the Dodgers placed Freeman on the Family Emergency List, calling up catcher Hunter Feduccia from Triple-A Oklahoma City in his place. There’s no timetable for Freeman’s return, but he will not play in Houston and his status for the two-game series against the Padres in San Diego is also up in the air.

The series opener against the Astros was the first game Freeman didn’t start all season and the Dodgers felt his absence immensely. Los Angeles got almost nothing going against left-hander Framber Valdez, who tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings, which included escaping a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.

"It’s a challenge,” Roberts said of being without Mookie Betts and Freeman in the lineup. "You have the guys you have, and you have to believe they’re gonna find a way to scratch some runs across."

Once Valdez exited the game, the Dodgers mounted a rally in the seventh, but it ended in disappointing fashion. Gavin Lux hit an infield single that would’ve cut the deficit to 4-1, but Kiké Hernández overran second base and was tagged out for the final out. After it was initially ruled that Miguel Vargas had scored from third base in time, an Astros challenge overturned the original call and the run was nullified. With Shohei Ohtani on deck, the Dodgers got nothing.

"I think he felt that [Alex] Bregman vacated,” Roberts said. “He might have thought there was gonna be a play at first base, and then you realize that he still had the baseball, and [Jeremy] Peña was over there at third base. So we got caught in no man’s land, and Vargy didn’t run through the plate to score that run."

The next few games don’t get much easier for the Dodgers against a red-hot Astros team. In Freeman’s absence, Los Angeles will continue to lean on Cavan Biggio and Hernández as the two first-base options.

The club could also choose to call up a first baseman or acquire another position player before the July 30 Trade Deadline on Tuesday. A lineup without Freeman, Betts, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor struck out 15 times on Friday.