Freddie Freeman is 37 years old, the 2024 World Series MVP, and hitting .091 in the 2026 NLCS — the worst mark of any Dodgers starter in the series. When reporters asked whether LA’s age is catching up with them, Freeman said no. And honestly, he’s not entirely wrong. The problem is the numbers aren’t doing him any favors right now.
‘I Don’t Feel Old’ — Freeman and the Argument the Scoreboard Is Undercutting
At his October 15 press conference, Freeman addressed the narrative head-on. «That’s just people’s opinions,» he said. «We do know we have an older team — that doesn’t mean we’re playing bad because we’re old. We’re just not playing that great.» He capped it with four words: «I don’t feel old so.»
The distinction Freeman draws between age and performance is a fair one. But his own numbers in this series make it hard to hold that ground. He’s 1-for-11 with a .091 average and an .083 OBP, which makes him the worst-performing player in the NLCS by both win probability added (-0.32) and championship probability added (-4.62%), according to CBS Sports analysis published October 15. That’s not Shohei Ohtani. That’s Freeman.
The Real Problem: 2-for-26 With Runners in Scoring Position
Freeman has a point when he says age alone doesn’t explain poor performance — and the evidence partially backs him up. What’s actually burying the Dodgers is their inability to hit when it counts. LA is 2-for-26 with runners in scoring position this postseason and hasn’t hit a single home run in three NLCS games.
Milwaukee’s pitching staff deserves a lot of credit too. The Brewers‘ bullpen is posting a 0.31 ERA in the postseason — a number that would make any lineup look bad, whether it’s 30 years old or 37. The games have been close on the scoreboard — 2-1 in Game 1, 7-4 in Game 2, 6-2 in Game 3 — but the decisive blows came from back-to-back home runs by Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell off Blake Snell in the seventh inning of Game 3, at Dodger Stadium no less.
None of this happened by fluke. The Dodgers finished the regular season 100-62 and won the NL West. Milwaukee led the majors with 103 wins and has home-field advantage. The gap between these two teams in this series has been bigger than what the regular season suggested.
What the Dodgers Would Need to Pull This Off
To advance, LA would need to become only the second team in MLB history to come back from an 0-3 series deficit. The only team to ever do it: the 2004 Boston Red Sox against the Yankees. It’s possible. It’s also the stuff of history books.
Game 4 is scheduled for the night of October 15 at Dodger Stadium, with Shohei Ohtani expected to take the mound for LA. Milwaukee will look to left-hander José Quintana for an important bullpen role. If there’s a moment for Freeman to snap out of this slump, it’s now — and he knows it.
The Dodgers have won all three previous NLCS matchups against the Brewers — a sweep in 2025, seven games in 2018, and a wild card series in 2020. This time, Milwaukee is writing a very different story.
