Dodgers' Freddie Freeman: Begins second half with solo blast

Freeman went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, two walks and two total runs in a 9-6 victory over the Giants on Thursday.

Freeman entered the All-Star break with a scorching bat, and he wasted little time carrying that over to the second half, swatting a solo homer off Carlos Rodon in his first plate appearance. The superstar first baseman went on to reach base twice more in the contest, both times via walk. Freeman has pushed his batting average up to .322 -- fourth highest in the majors -- due to a blistering seven-game stretch in which he is slashing .654/.688/1.308 with four homers, eight RBI and nine runs.