Sports
Freddie Freeman's 'borderline miracle' stolen base in NLDS Game 1 gives Dodgers chills
It wasn’t the most stunning October moment delivered by a gimpy Dodgers player in Chavez Ravine. That honor will always go to Kirk Gibson, who hobbled around the bases on two bum knees after his walk-off home run off Oakland Athletic closer Dennis Eckersley landed in the right-field pavilion in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
But it was up there.
After leading off the third inning of Saturday night’s National League Division Series-opening 7-5 victory over the the San Diego Padres with a single, Freddie Freeman — playing on a right ankle that was so severely sprained doctors told him “this is a four-to six-week [injured list] stint” — took off for second base.
And he stole it, sending a jolt of energy and an extra dose of determination through a Dodgers dugout that had begun to find its footing after erasing a 3-0 first-inning deficit on Shohei Ohtani’s score-tying three-run home run in the second inning.
“We had a saying in 2020 when we won [the World Series], guys were going around saying, ‘Hey, I’m prepared to die out there today,’ ” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “Obviously, it’s metaphorical, but that’s kind of the mentality we’re taking again this year, like nothing should hold us back out there, and Freddie proved that tonight.
“He gets the hits, makes the plays, steals a bag, and it sends a message to our dugout that hey, it doesn’t matter what your name is, who you are, you better be willing to do whatever it takes to win this game. … It’s hard to put into words exactly what that meant to see Freddie doing that. It’s just really cool. It almost gives you chills.”
Freddie Freeman celebrates after hitting a single in the third inning Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Freeman’s stolen base put him on second with no outs, and though he didn’t score in the inning, it gave the team hope that its 35-year-old first baseman and No. 3 hitter would be a factor in this series despite his injury, which he sustained trying to avoid a tag while running out a grounder in the Sept. 26 division-clinching win over San Diego.
Freeman lined a 109-mph single to right field in his first at-bat in the first inning. After his third-inning single to right, he grounded into a fielder’s choice during a three-run fourth inning, grounded out to first in the sixth and struck out in the eighth.
“When you see a guy like Freddie going through what he’s going through and making himself available to play, that speaks a lot,” said shortstop Miguel Rojas, who is playing with a left-adductor strain. “It pushed me to forget about everything that is going on with me, because I’m not even close to what he’s going through.
“Nobody in this clubhouse is 100%. We all understand that. But the fire and the fight from this team is unbelievable.”
When Rojas saw Freeman limping around the clubhouse early Saturday afternoon, he thought there was “no chance” Freeman would play.
“I thought he had like a 5% chance with how he looked when he got here,” Rojas said. “I don’t think anybody expected him to play. It was borderline a miracle.”
Freeman went through a workout on Friday but woke up so sore on Saturday that he told his 8-year-old son, Charlie, “I don’t know if Daddy is going to be able to play today.” Freeman arrived at Dodger Stadium at 10:45 a.m. and received several hours of treatment that reduced the swelling in his ankle.
Freeman went through his normal pregame workout on the field, and after hitting off a high-velocity pitching machine in the batting cage about 2½ hours before first pitch, he told manager Dave Roberts he felt good enough to play. That decision looked pretty good after Freeman’s sharp single in the first inning.
In the Dodgers’ 7-5 win in the opening game of the National League Division Series, Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run home run to tie the game. And six scoreless innings from the Dodgers’ bullpen kept the lead from changing.
“That really helped with the feeling-out process,” Freeman said. “I felt good after my first at bat, so I knew I could do it.”
But good enough to steal a base? That seemed unfathomable to players and coaches in both dugouts, to Padres pitcher Dylan Cease and to just about everyone in a sellout crowd of 53,028.
“I think the stolen base was just pure luck,” Freeman said. “I leaned into Clayton [McCullough, first-base coach], and said, ‘What is [Cease’s time to the plate]? They know I have a sprained ankle, and I figured they didn’t think I was gonna steal. He said, ‘1.65 seconds.’ I said, ‘Can I go?’ And he goes, ‘Can you run?’ And I just took off.
“You know, 90 feet means a lot in this game, especially in the postseason. I know I took a big risk with how I’m feeling, but the opportunity presented itself, and I had to go for it. If I can’t play the game the right way, I shouldn’t be out there. So I was feeling good enough, adrenaline took over. But the adrenaline’s worn off now. I’m tired.”
What did Roberts think when he saw Freeman take off for second?
“I was holding my breath,” he said. “And that crash landing, I wanted to make sure he was able to get up. Freddie, as a competitor, felt there was a chance to get into scoring position with nobody out. It’s a calculated play. I guess he was playing possum with everybody. But it’s just a heady play and a gutsy play. … He just willed himself into the lineup. He was certainly medicated.”
In addition to physical therapy sessions and extensive pregame treatments, pain-killers will be part of Freeman’s daily regimen for the rest of the postseason.
“Everything is doctor prescribed, whatever the doctors allow me to have, but yeah, there’s some help,” Freeman said. “Unfortunately, this probably might be how it is every day, but I think we have a good plan and approach.”
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Napoleon Solo took home the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 151st running of the race.
The favorite in Taj Mahal, the 1 horse, was in the lead from the start until the final turn until Napoleon Solo made his move on the outside and took the lead at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal fell off, Iron Honor, the 9 horse, snuck up, but the effort ultimately was not enough.
Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and closed at 7-1. Iron Honor, at 8-1, finished second, with Chip Honcho fishing third after closing at 11-1. Ocelli, one of just three horses to run both the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Saturday’s Preakness, finished fourth at 8-1.
A Preakness branded starting gate is seen on track prior to the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, 2026 in Laurel, Maryland. For the first and only time, Laurel Park is hosting the Preakness Stakes which is the second race of the Triple Crown jewel due to the traditional home of the race of the Pimlico Race Course undergoing complete renovations. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
A $1 exacta paid out $53.60, while a $1 trifecta brought in $597.10. But someone out there is very lucky, as a $1 superhighfive – picking the top-five finishers in order – paid out $12,015.70.
Even moreso, a 20-cent Pick 6 – picking the winners of the six consecutive races, with the final being the Preakness, paid out $33,842.34.
The race was run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row. After Sovereignty did not run the Preakness last year – and wound up winning the Belmont Stakes – the training team of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Maryland race.
From 1960 to 2018, only three Derby winners did not run in the Preakness. Three Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in the last five years, and for the sixth time in eight years, for various reasons, the Triple Crown had already been impossible to accomplish by the time the Preakness even rolled around.
“I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.
Paco Lopez, right, atop Napoleon Solo, edges out Iron Honor, ridden by Flavien Prat, to win the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE
Only three horses from two weeks ago – Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt, were back at the Preakness. Corona de Oro, the 11 horse on Saturday, was scratched well ahead of the Derby, and Great White, who reared up and fell on his back after becoming startled shortly before entering the Derby gate, took the 13 post on Saturday.
The Preakness went off roughly 24 hours after a horse died following the completion of his very first race.
Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, came into the race as the favorite. However, he finished last in the race, which was won by another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact — and upon crossing the finish line, Hit Zero reportedly began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died.
The Preakness took place at Laurel Park as Pimlico undergoes renovations. It was the first time ever that Pimlico did not host the race, moving roughly 20 miles south.
Paco Lopez, atop Napoleon Solo, wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Belmont Stakes, the final Triple Crown race, will take place on June 6. The race will return to Saratoga for a third year in a row as Belmont Park continues to be renovated.
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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL
CITY SECTION FINALS
FRIDAY
At Birmingham
DIVISION I
#1 Taft d. #3 Cleveland, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21
DIVISION IV
#7 Maywood CES d. #4 Math & Science College Prep, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23
At Venice
DIVISION II
#4 Marquez d. #6 Narbonne, 23-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-16
DIVISION III
#13 Birmingham d. #2 Legacy, 25-20, 17-25, 31-33, 25-21, 15-10
SATURDAY
At Birmingham
OPEN DIVISION
#3 Chatsworth d. #1 Granada Hills, 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18
DIVISION V
314 Franklin d. #13 Rancho Dominguez, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16
SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS
THURSDAY
At Home Sites
DIVISION 9
Vasquez d. Tarbut V’ Torah, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10
FRIDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 1
#1 Mira Costa d. #3 Loyola, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22
DIVISION 4
Sunny Hills d. Royal, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23
At Home Sites
DIVISION 5
Bishop Diego d. St. Anthony, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23
DIVISION 8
Temescal Canyon d. West Valley, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23
SATURDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 2
Orange Lutheran d. Edison, 3-1
DIVISION 3
Windward d. St, John Bosco, 24-26, 25–21, 25-22, 25-20
DIVISION 6
Culver City d. Garden Grove, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9
Sports
It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons
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The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand it, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have delivered over and over to viewers and rewarded us for putting up with garbage regular-season games.
This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been sweeps, and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive hoops. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 in the Eastern Conference?
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a game at home in the postseason.
Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to get their footing. They lost in an ugly fashion and now have to figure out a way to win a game on the road.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half of Game 5 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Detroit on May 13, 2026. (Duane Burleson/AP)
It isn’t just the Cavs’ fate that rests in this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.
We know that Mitchell is a very good player, but he isn’t regarded as one of the best players ever. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7s. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That’s not terrible, but looking at his shooting percentages, he is at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He actually is 4-4 overall in the games, but in his past three, he has scored a combined 34 points over 113 minutes.
The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs against the wall. They are a gritty team, so I suppose it makes sense.
Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team, and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he is taking more time to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him just isn’t there yet.
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Now as the team goes home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game with ease. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes away a big dimension of what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. It isn’t everything, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.
I don’t see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham likely will cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven’t seen him do that in the postseason, yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden talk during Game 2 in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Images)
This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both of the clubs, so it isn’t like either will be caught off guard about what this entails.
If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the better players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to issues and slipping. The Cavs shouldn’t be as they are a veteran team.
This game has to be won by Cleveland, though. There is too much riding on the franchise and legacies of guys for them to not prepare properly for it. Maybe that’s weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I do think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell, and Harden should get 10+ assists.
Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
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