Freddie Freeman returns to the team after being hit by a pitch, claiming he has found a solution to his swing issues.

Dodgers' star first baseman Freddie Freeman has encountered several injuries during the first half of the season, but lately, his main struggle has been with his swing mechanics.

This struggle continued into Sunday—when Freeman was struck on the left wrist by an 88 mph changeup, leading him to voluntarily leave the game against the Brewers. Although negative X-ray results relieved the team, it remained uncertain whether he would play the following day.

Freeman didn't dwell on his wrist injury; instead, he spent the night reflecting on his swing issues. This morning, he felt good and informed manager Dave Roberts that he would participate in the first game of the series against the Twins. In that game, he had four at-bats, hitting one double and helping the Dodgers secure a 5-2 victory.

"He’s doing okay," Roberts said, "though he’s a bit sore, but being out there is more beneficial for us and won’t exacerbate the injury." What pleased Freeman even more was that he finally regained his swing feel at Dodger Stadium—his first time since mid-May. The statistics confirmed his struggles: before today’s game, his batting average had dropped to .199 since June 2, with an OPS of .553.

Freeman's reaction when hit by the pitch yesterday was what worried the team the most. This tough player, who often plays through injuries, surprisingly walked straight back to the dugout, which is quite unusual. However, Freeman stated that even before seeing the X-ray results, he could tell that this wrist sensation was different from when he fractured it from a pitch in 2017.

"This time it’s a dull pain," Freeman explained, "being hit directly on the wrist isn’t pleasant, mainly because the area of an old injury has flared up. We addressed it right away." After the game, he happened to see a photo of his batting stance from last year’s World Series. Although he had watched many videos to adjust his mechanics, this photo made him realize he was leaning too far forward on his front ankle—which was precisely where he had surgery last offseason.

Eager to try this new insight, Freeman admitted, "I didn’t sleep well last night, worried I’d forget the key points in the morning." This adjustment was reminiscent of the slight tweaks he made upon returning from the 10-day injured list earlier in the season when his right ankle injury had flared up again.

"This time it’s about a new approach to generating power with my legs while hitting," Freeman elaborated, "shifting my weight onto my front ankle helps improve my timing and downward force efficiency when hitting. During today’s batting practice, I was able to connect with pitches at 42 mph, but the actual game performance remains to be seen."