Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman missed the team’s three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles with a broken right middle finger. However, the eight-time All-Star made an explosive return from the injury in Friday’s series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a first inning home run.

In Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks Freeman would once again go yard in the first. This time he completed a team feat that hadn’t been seen in over 12 years. The Dodgers opened Saturday’s game with back-to-back-to-back home runs for the first time since May 10, 2012, according to Sportsnet Stats on X.

Shohei Ohtani started the game off with a shot to center. Mookie Betts followed him with a homer to left center. And Freeman finished off the trifecta with a bomb to right center. All three home runs were 400 feet or longer but Freeman’s was the longest at 437 feet.

The fact that the three players are all former MVPs makes the accomplishment even more special. Betts took home the award in 2018, Freeman in 2020 and Ohtani in 2021 and ‘23.

Dodgers Ohtani, Betts and Freeman collaborate for cool feat

May 20, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) is greeted at the plate by second baseman Miguel Rojas (11), shortstop Mookie Betts (50) and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) after hitting a grand slam home run in the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Ohtani is the frontrunner for National League MVP again this season. The seven-year veteran has been sensational in his debut with the Dodgers. Ohtani has home runs in back-to-back games now and is up to an NL-best 44 dongs on the year. He also leads the league in runs (107), slugging percentage (.620), OPS (.999) and OPS+ (177).

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Ohtani joined the exclusive 40/40 club this season and is up to 43 steals on the year. He’s on pace to become the first player ever with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.

Betts missed nearly two months after going down with a fractured left hand on June 16. While he played most the season at shortstop, Betts returned to right field when he came off the injured list in mid August. The six-time Gold Glove winner has an .878 OPS and an OPS+ of 148 with 4.3 bWAR in 89 games for the Dodgers. He’s up to 14 home runs, 55 RBI and 61 runs so far this season.

Freeman had been out of the lineup with the finger fracture but more significantly his son had been hospitalized with a rare neurological condition in late July. Fortunately Freeman’s son Max is expected to make a full recovery and was able to return home earlier this month.

The 15-year veteran is having a typically excellent season with an .858 OPS, an OPS+ of 142 and 3.9 bWAR for the Dodgers. He’s now up to 19 home runs, 78 RBI and 72 runs scored in 123 games this season.

The Dodgers are 27 games above .500 with a five-game lead over the second-place Diamondbacks in the NL West entering play on Saturday. The team has gone 25-13 since returning from the All-Star break, good for the third-best record in baseball in that span.