Let’s begin here: Freddie Freeman is a baseball god, OK?
Cut the Padres some slack for their 8-2 loss Sunday to the Dodgers that nixed a three-game sweep and tied up the National League West’s top spot — which actually isn’t knotted because Los Angeles holds a tiebreaker.
The Padres were in trouble once Freeman found his “A” game, which for hitters of his era, belongs on the tip-top shelf.
Homering twice and also drawing a big-time walk that led to a run, Freeman made sure the Padres would not hold his team to one run for the third game in a row, despite more good work from ace Nick Pivetta.
Advertisement
What lifts Freeman above other very good hitters?
His concise swing path — inside out — recalls Tony Gwynn, yet the lefty has home run power to all fields. Although this baseball era is too fast for many old hitters due the abundance of velocity and spin, Freeman is still raking as he nears his 36th birthday.
Baseball men marvel that the gangly Freeman, who’s 6-foot-4, somehow maintains a precise stroke.
“I wouldn’t teach anyone to do it like he does it,” a pitching coach told me two years ago. “He’s a freak.”
Age may have eroded some of his visual skills. His strikeout rate this year, though pretty good, is his highest in eight years.
Advertisement
But age can’t harm his ability to read pitchers.
The walk Freeman drew off Pivetta in the first inning owed to Freeman laying off tough pitches.
The six-pitch walk loaded the bases with none out, sending L.A. to a 1-0 lead.
The Padres had gone ahead 2-1 when Freeman batted in the sixth with one out. And by then Pivetta had clicked into ace mode, having retired nine in a row.
Freeman carved Pivetta’s first pitch, a curveball, down the left-field line, meaning he stayed back on Pivetta’s slowest pitch (77 mph).
Advertisement
Would the flick-shot land one of his famous inside-out doubles?
It tailed foul, a foot wide of the chalk.
Pivetta came back with a much speedier pitch. A fastball, it was 17 mph quicker.
Neither tardy nor hasty, Freeman met the misplaced 94-mph fastball flush with perfect launch.
As the ball soared beyond the right-center field wall, if Padres pitcher Nestor Cortes flashed back and grimaced in the dugout, it would have made sense.
Advertisement
Cortes threw an inside fastball in Game 1 of the World Series last October that Freeman hit into the right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium for the first walk-off grand slam in the event’s history. It began a run in which Freeman homered in four consecutive games, extending his World Series home run streak to six games.
The baseball god version of Freeman still exists. And if any doubts lingered in Sunday’s game, Freeman chased them by homering again off reliever Wandy Peralta. A lefty reliever, Peralta allows a long ball once every 70 at-bats. The sequence: slider for a strike, sinker for a foul ball, changeup for a home run.
Seamhead stuff
Padres relievers held L.A. to one run in six innings over the series’ first two games.
But Pivetta’s replacement, Jeremiah Estrada, gave up a three-run home run to rookie catcher Dalton Rushing after allowing two Dodgers to reach base.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said if lefty Adrian Morejon had been brought in to face Rushing, he would’ve sent up right-handed Will Smith, L.A.s’ main catcher.
Smith is a much better hitter than Rushing.
Advertisement
The Dodgers had batted .368 with four home runs off Estrada. But the righty never faced Rushing, whose .505 OPS in 115 plate appearances was poor.
With Shohei Ohtani on deck, the Padres sought an inning-ending double play.
Estrada tried for it by throwing five sliders or split-fastballs rather than his No. 1 pitch, a fastball that pushes 100 mph.
Rushing didn’t hit the desired grounder, then let pass Estrada’s first fastball, loading the count. Opting for another a slider, Estrada dangled it. Rushing pulled it for his third home run.
“Baseball ain’t easy,” Estrada said.
Advertisement
Padres fandom has its rough moments, too.
Roberts said a Padres fan wearing a Fernando Tatis Jr. jersey seated near L.A’s on-deck circle gave Ohtani a lot of guff, reminding the slugger of his struggles against the Padres in the series.
Ohtani answered with a home run in the top of the ninth. Then he went to the fan and slapped him on the hand.
With 31 games to go, the Padres will try to win their first National West title since Bruce Bochy’s final San Diego team edged L.A. in 2006. It’s hard to argue with the math of Padres hitter Gavin Sheets, who quipped that a 31-0 finish should get it done. “The atmosphere was great,” Sheets said of the three-game series. “It was good baseball to see.”
Four suspects were behind bars Friday for allegedly beating a man to death two months ago during a fight at Linda Vista Park.
Arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder in connection with the violent death of 59-year-old Ruben Rimorin were Juan Garcia Alavez, 21, Juan Manuel Lopez, 26, Brian Reyes, 20, and Franklin Joseph Tuell, 21, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Rimorin was found gravely injured about 3:45 a.m. Oct. 18 on a sidewalk in the 6800 block of Osler Street, just west of the park, SDPD Lt. Chris Tivanian said. Paramedics tried in vain to revive the victim before pronouncing him dead at the scene.
It remains unclear what sparked the deadly fight.
Advertisement
The suspects were being held at San Diego Central Jail without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday afternoon.
National City’s Pepper Park can soon expand in size by nearly 50%, thanks to a ruling this week by the California Coastal Commission to approve the National City Balanced Plan.
The approval of the plan at the CCC’s Wednesday meeting, developed by the Port of San Diego, means that not only will the popular park have the ability to increase in size, big changes are coming for commercial, recreation and maritime uses on the National City bayfront.
“We are grateful to the California Coastal Commission for its support of the National City Balanced Plan,” said Danielle Moore, chair of the Board of Port Commissioners. “The progress we have made has been anchored in tireless collaboration with the community, business leaders and, of course, the city of National City. It’s about bringing more recreational opportunities to the bayfront while also streamlining and strengthening maritime operations, and we are eager to bring these projects to life.”
Other components of the balanced plan include:
Advertisement
Realigning Marina Way to serve as the buffer area between commercial recreation and maritime uses
The closure of Tidelands Avenue between Bay Marina Drive and West 32nd Street, and West 28th Street between Tidelands Avenue and Quay Avenue, around six acres, to increase terminal efficiency by eliminating redundancies
The development of a recreational vehicle park, tent sites, cabins and the “ultimate development of up to two hotels with up to 365 rooms, as well as dry boat storage,” a port statement read
A connector rail project to connect the existing rail and loop track located on the National City Marine Terminal to additional rail car storage spots at the existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe National City Yard east of the National Distribution Center
The Board of Port Commissioners must accept the CCC’s certification, then the port and city can begin the process of completing the above projects.
“I am proud of the work we have done to help create a lasting legacy for National City, the Port of San Diego, and the entire region,” said Port Commissioner GilAnthony Ungab. “Nearly a decade in the making, this plan balances the interests of the community and many other stakeholders, addresses public access, maritime, and recreation uses, and expands waterfront access in my community.”
The National City Bayfront is 273 acres of waterfront land and 167 acres of water, and includes the National City Marine Terminal, Pepper Park, Pier 32 Marina, the Aquatic Center and pieces of public art.
Mayor Todd Gloria announced an initiative Wednesday intended to expand housing options in neighborhoods by integrating small-scale residences such as townhomes, rowhomes and cottages into an area’s existing character.
The Neighborhood Homes for All of Us initiative is also intended to support community land trusts — nonprofit organizations that acquire land to create permanent affordable housing.
“Since Day 1 of my administration, I have been focused on building more homes that San Diegans can actually afford — and getting them built faster,” Gloria said at a news conference Wednesday. “‘Neighborhood Homes for All of Us’ is the latest piece of that puzzle. This innovative program will break down the barriers that have gotten in the way of building the type of housing that I believe is ideal for young families and first-time homebuyers for whom the dream of homeownership has long felt out of reach.”
Around 80% of land zoned for housing in the city is restricted to single-family homes, which continue to increase in price, Gloria said. And a significant portion of new housing being built consists of apartment buildings with primarily studio and one-bedroom units, leaving working-class families fewer and fewer options for homes.
Advertisement
Neighborhood Homes for All of Us is intended to increase the housing supply and allow community land trusts to keep housing affordable in disadvantaged communities for low- to middle-income families.
“San Diego is an incredible place to raise a family, and more families need the opportunity to do that in San Diego’s existing, highly desirable single-family neighborhoods where their kids can learn and play in a great community,” City Planning Director Heidi Vonblum said. “But today, that comes at a price that is out of reach for too many. Integrating more options for families requires careful and thoughtful planning, with input from existing and future community members across the city, to ensure these new home opportunities for San Diego’s families are built in ways that best enhance and benefit San Diego’s amazing neighborhoods.”
The initiative will roll out in two phases. In the first phase, beginning this week and continuing through next summer, San Diegans can help determine what the neighborhoods can look like. The public will be able to see renderings showing small-scale neighborhood homes within San Diego’s existing communities, along with new regulations that “provide a clear pathway for building these homes,” according to a statement from Gloria’s office.
Phase 1 will also include an open house and ways for the community to provide feedback and concerns.
Phase 2, scheduled for the second half of 2026, will be for city staff to develop regulations allowing for the building of more neighborhood homes in a way informed by the public feedback.
Advertisement
The initiative is partly funded through a Regional Early Action Planning grant from the San Diego Association of Governments.
