The party started before the first pitch ever crossed the plate Friday night at Dodger Stadium. By the end of the evening, it had transformed into another October-feeling win in May for the Dodgers — and a milestone night for one of their biggest stars.
On Miguel Rojas bobblehead night, the Dodgers leaned on timely hitting, a bounce-back outing from Emmet Sheehan, and a historic swing from Freddie Freeman to beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 in the series opener. And fittingly, it was Freeman, facing his former team, who delivered the signature moment.
Freeman launched his 100th home run as a Dodger in the sixth inning — a 413-foot no-doubter to center field off Braves ace Chris Sale. The blast gave the Dodgers breathing room and capped one of their cleanest wins of the season.
"Facing a Cy Young Award winner," Freeman said afterward. "We're playing the team with the best record, we obviously put up a great game plan."
Freeman later revealed he recently made a subtle adjustment to his batting stance, slightly turning his front foot inward to keep his hips closed longer and drive the baseball again. The results finally showed up Friday night.
Before the baseball game started, however, the night belonged to Rojas. Fans packed Chavez Ravine early to collect the bobblehead, and the emotional pregame ceremony reflected just how much he has come to mean to this clubhouse and fan base. Rojas' son threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and moments later the infielder walked into center field during stretching, dropped to one knee, and soaked in a standing ovation from the crowd of 51,255.
"I can't really put it into words on how grateful I am of this fanbase and the love I've been receiving these past couple of months," Rojas said.
Then the game began, and the Dodgers immediately needed a strong response from Sheehan. After struggling through his previous outing in St. Louis — allowing four runs on eight hits while watching his velocity dip into the low 90s — Sheehan looked much sharper this time around, giving the Dodgers exactly what they needed on a night that felt like October baseball in May.