NEW YORK (AP) — When the World Series started, it was hard to figure what Freddie Freeman would be able to provide for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He left no doubt about the MVP winner.

Freeman broke records by homering in the first four games and matched a Fall Classic mark with 12 RBIs to power the Dodgers past the New York Yankees for their second championship in five years.

“That means there was a lot of my teammates on base,” Freeman said after being presented with the World Series MVP award, named in honor of Willie Mays. “I’m glad I was able to get hot at the right time.”

The popular slugger delivered yet again Wednesday night with a two-run single off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in a five-run fifth inning that helped rally Los Angeles to a clinching 7-6 victory in Game 5.

Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson also drove in 12 runs in 1960 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the championship that year on Bill Mazeroski’s famous homer that ended Game 7.

Freeman compiled his total in just five games against New York, setting several World Series standards along the way.

The 35-year-old first baseman homered in each of the first four games, becoming the first player to accomplish that feat. The streak began when he launched the first game-ending grand slam in World Series history to win a dramatic opener in Los Angeles.

Freeman’s two-run drive in the first inning Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium made him the only player to go deep in six consecutive Series games, dating to the 2021 title he won with Atlanta.

He was robbed of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning of Game 5 when Aaron Judge made a sensational catch of his long drive while crashing hard into the fence.

But the MVP award put a joyous cap on a scary and trying season for the Freeman family. Freeman missed eight games in July and August after his 3-year-old son, Maximus, fell ill while watching his father at the All-Star Game festivities in Texas.

When the family returned home, Max was hospitalized and put on a ventilator after he experienced partial paralysis and breathing difficulty. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré, the rare neurological condition that affects the immune system, nerves and muscles.

Max’s condition gradually improved, and Freeman returned to work Aug. 5. He was welcomed back by a huge ovation from Dodgers fans that prompted tears from Freeman.

“I wish I’d never had to go through what we did as a family. But ultimately Maximus is doing really, really well right now. He’s a special boy, but it has been a grind for three months. It really has. It’s been a lot,” Freeman said.

“Then obviously with the injuries at the end, it makes it all worth it kind of in the end. I’ll never compare Maximus to baseball. I won’t. It’s just two separate things, but with him doing really well now, it does mean a little bit extra.”

Freeman batted .282 this season with 22 homers and 89 RBIs. An eight-time All-Star and the 2020 NL MVP with Atlanta, he is a .300 career hitter with 343 homers, 1,232 RBIs and an .899 OPS in 15 major league seasons. He has hit .300 or better eight times.

Freeman sprained his right ankle on Sept. 26 against San Diego while trying to avoid a tag at first base by Luis Arráez and missed the Dodgers’ last three regular-season games. He didn’t have any RBIs in the NL Division Series against the Padres and only one in the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets.

Freeman missed three games during the NL playoffs because of his ailing ankle. He didn’t play in the NLCS finale against the Mets and had six days off entering the World Series, allowing time for the ankle to feel better.

“I did a lot of work in between the NLCS and the World Series. Thankfully, my ankle got into a good spot where I could work on my swing, and I found a cue that really worked for me,” he said. “I was able to slow things down. All you’re trying to do is swing at strikes, take balls, and hit the mistakes. Thankfully, I was able to do that for five games.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts puts Freeman on his Mount Rushmore of favorite players along with teammate Mookie Betts.

“He’s got gratitude, the desire to play every day, to know that this is a job and your job is to play and you’ve got to maximize your value — that’s by playing,” Roberts said Tuesday. “He’s my favorite player to be around as far as what he does for the culture of the organization.”

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A week after he made national headlines for supporting the Menendez brothers’ resentencing, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón went a step further, announcing he supports the brothers’ request for clemency from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Erik and Lyle Menendez asked Newsom for clemency on Monday, a request Gascón’s office supported with a letter to Newsom, the District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

“I strongly support clemency for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently serving sentences of life without possibility of parole. They have respectively served 34 years and have continued their educations and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of fellow inmates,” said Gascón.

The clemency decision now rests with Newsom, though the Menendezes could still be freed if a judge agrees with their request for resentencing, something Gascón has also called for.

If approved, the Menendezes could be paroled being sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 1989 shootings of their parents at their Beverly Hills home.

A hearing on resentencing is scheduled for Dec. 11.

A low pressure system in the Pacific Ocean could bring some substantial rainfall to Southern California this weekend. 

That weather pattern, known as zonal flow, is why SoCal has seen average and slightly above average temperatures this week, KTLA 5 meteorologist Henry DiCarlo explained. 

“Keep in mind, in this time of year, we can generally get warm weather or get much cooler weather, and we’re right around the average…the reason for that is zonal flow,” Henry said. “It’s slightly cooler because the air starts from the north and takes a turn, so we’re not bringing in warm air or aggressively cold air.”

A high pressure system currently over the southwestern U.S. will be affected by the trough; however, the extent of how much precipitation will fall is still up in the air. 

“What we get is this area of low pressure which during the summer months, typically stays to the north, but now since the jet stream has moved a little bit, the high pressure starts to weaken,” Henry elaborated. “It’s going to open the door [for rain] but the question is how [wide] the door is open.” 

If the low pressure system moves down the western seaboard and hovers over California and Nevada – as some computer models project – that could pave the way for as much as two to three inches of rain this weekend. 

That said, if the high pressure system continues to hold through Wednesday and Thursday, the chance of precipitation falls significantly. 

“If the high pressure that we have today and tomorrow stays with us and is strong enough to bump the low pressure system just a couple hundred miles to the east, we will get shut out,” Henry said. 

In their latest regional forecast, the National Weather Service stated that the storm’s trajectory is still “highly uncertain,” but can bring the possibility of rain, high-elevation snow and gusty winds. 

As for the rest of the workweek, it will be dry across most of the region, NWS says. Warm temperatures and clear skies should provide for a comfortable Halloween trick-or-treating experience on Thursday night.