Freddie Freeman back in Dodgers lineup despite scary fall down dugout stairs

Freddie Freeman has long been loathe to off days.

And on Thursday, not even a frightening tumble down a set of dugout stairs the night before managed to keep him out of the Dodgers’ lineup.

After escaping his scary-looking fall on Wednesday with only general body soreness from his shoulder to his foot, Freeman was indeed good to go for Thursday’s series-opener against the Milwaukee Brewers, playing first base and batting fourth in the Dodgers’ order.

“I didn’t hit my head, so that was the key part,” Freeman said Wednesday night.

“Kneecaps are sore, shoulder is sore, hand is sore, wrist is sore,” he added. “I mean, I fell. But I’m in good spirits. I’ve already cold-tubbed. I’ve done everything I needed to do to put myself in a position to be able to hopefully play tomorrow.”

When Freeman went crashing into the visiting dugout on Wednesday, an immediate return to the lineup hardly seemed certain.

The 36-year-old remained down for several moments, as Dodgers players and trainers came racing over to check on him.

The crowd held its breath, before breaking into chants of “Fredd-ie! Fredd-ie” as he got back to his feet.

Somehow, Freeman emerged from the freak incident largely unscathed, initially staying in the game and playing out the rest of the eighth inning on defense.

He was removed thereafter, but was feeling good enough postgame to not even warrant an X-ray.

“Really dodged a bullet,” manager Dave Roberts said.

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