TOKYO -- First baseman Freddie Freeman was not in the lineup for Wednesday's second game of the Tokyo Series because of left rib discomfort that also cost him the Dodgers' season opener against the Cubs.
Freeman said Tuesday that he thought he had a good chance of playing Wednesday. The Dodgers previously said that if Freeman couldn't, he would likely undergo imaging on his rib.
But in his pregame news conference on Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts sounded optimistic that Freeman would be available for the Freeway Series against the Angels beginning on Sunday.
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"He lobbied hard, like he always does," Roberts said. "He wants to play every day. He kind of prepared to play, but ultimately conceded to myself and the training staff. It's just too early in the season to potentially put him in harm's way. He feels much better than he did yesterday. My expectation is that he'll be good to go for the Freeway Series."
Freeman played through broken cartilage -- essentially a broken rib, he said -- last postseason, which he previously thought had gotten better with rest. He didn't feel any recent discomfort in the area before Tuesday, when he felt it during his last round of batting practice in the "same exact" spot as last year.
"Not as severe," Roberts said on Tuesday. "I thought we made the right decision not playing him tonight, and we'll see how he comes in tomorrow. So right now, I'm not too concerned."
Although he characteristically wanted to play through it, Freeman was held out of the lineup as a precaution.
"It was probably smart," Freeman said on Tuesday. "Obviously, way better than last year. Last year, I needed help getting to my car that first day. I can walk. I can take deep breaths. Just felt a little something in my rib, and with it being the first game, we didnĄŻt want it to be something lingering."
Head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who is at the Tokyo Series, told him that it could potentially be scar tissue from healing.
Freeman played in both of the Dodgers' Tokyo Dome exhibition games against the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers. He played first base in those games and got six at-bats between the two games.