Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte shared a light moment during L.A.’s 3-2 win on Saturday.
With Freeman standing on first, Dodgers third baseman Santiago Espinal grounded to Marte in the second inning. The three-time All-Star had Freeman dead to rights, and the veteran slugger paused before walking into Marte’s waiting arms as they shared a brief hug.
Freeman quipped after the game he “didn’t think I’d ever be a part of a hug out on a baseball field.”
“I stopped, and I was like, is there any way around this?” he told reporters. “If I go out of the baseline, I’m out. If I run back, he’ll just run to second. He gave me a little, ‘Come here,’ and I was like, ‘All right, let’s just do it.'”
Marte will be thankful Freeman didn’t channel retired star Albert Belle, who lowered his shoulder and ran through infielder Fernando Viña in order to stop a double play during a 1996 game.
Having gone hitless in the Dodgers’ first two games, Freeman was 3-for-4 with an RBI double in the sixth on Saturday.
Catcher Will Smith propelled Los Angeles to its third straight win and a sweep with a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth.
L.A. is back in action Monday, when it kicks off a three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians.