Freddie Freeman's Unbelievable Scoop at First Base Saved Dodgers' Win vs. Royals

The Dodgers claimed the MLB's best record with their win Friday night.
Freeman holds his glove in the air after securing the final out against the Royals
Freeman holds his glove in the air after securing the final out against the Royals / Screengrab via @MLB on X/Twitter

The Los Angeles Dodgers found themselves in a one-out jam with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night as they hung on to a one-run lead. Dodgers closer Tanner Scott got a ground ball for a much-needed shot at a double play, but it was the furthest thing from routine.

Second baseman Tommy Edman fielded the ball hit by Royals rookie Jac Caglianone cleanly and fired it over to Mookie Betts at shortstop for out No. 1. Betts had to turn it as quickly as he could to beat Caglianone to first and stop the tying run from scoring and preserving the win.

The throw to first skipped through the Kauffman Stadium dirt as Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman made a tremendous effort to scoop the ball while keeping his foot on the bag, laying out nearly in the splits for the final out of the game.

He held his glove triumphantly in the air while falling to the ground as the out was called, with the ball poking out of his mitt after the snow-cone catch.

If the ball got by Freeman, that very well could have turned the game from a Dodgers win to a crushing road loss. With the victory, the Dodgers claimed the best record in baseball (52-31) after the previous owner of that honor, the Detroit Tigers, dropped a game to the Minnesota Twins on Friday and fell to 51-32 on the season. And it's all because Freeman stayed in front of the ball.


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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.