Freddie Freeman made his spring training debut, and more important than the result in a 2-0 Dodgers loss to the Rockies on Thursday at Salt River Fields.

Freeman, coming back from right ankle surgery in December, singled once in his three at-bats and hit the ball hard twice.

The former MVP played with a tape on his right ankle, something Freeman said he expects to do until the All-Star break, per reporters on-site in Arizona. Freeman also said the plan is for him to DH on Saturday and play first base on Sunday.

After coming in as the first man off the bullpen in his spring debut, Landon Knack got his first start and held the Rockies scoreless over 1⅓ innings, stretching out to 37 pitches.

An interesting point about Knack’s start is that following what he showed last year but even more aggressively, the slider was a non-factor against left-handers. In fact, all 14 of the sliders he threw in this outing came against righties, with lefties seeing only fastballs and a couple of curveballs.

Offensively, apart from that, it was a day to forget for the Dodgers, finishing the game with only one extra-base hit and enduring a 1-for-19 run at one point.

Up next

The Dodgers will play their first night game of the spring Friday against the Angels (5:05 p.m. PT; SportsNet LA, MLB Network). Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith will make their Cactus League debuts, and Dustin May will start on the mound.