Freddie Freeman took Alex Cora’s questionable decision personally and made Red Sox pay

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a team littered with high-end talent. Shohei Ohtani gets most of the headlines, obviously, but the Dodgers have perennial MVP candidates Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman on their roster, as well as All-Star talent like Will Smith, Max Muncy, and Teoscar Hernandez.

When healthy, this Dodgers team can beat anyone. Even short-handed with Betts, Muncy, and a ton of starting pitchers on the injured list, they can beat just about anyone.

Picking your poison has been a theme against the Dodgers and will continue to be. Sometimes it'll work out, sometimes it won't. The Boston Red Sox picked their poison on Friday, and it did not work out in their favor.

Freddie Freeman makes Red Sox pay following questionable decision

The Red Sox held a slim 1-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning in the first game following the All-Star break. Starting the second half of the season with a win against this Dodgers team on the road would be a great way for the Red Sox to maintain the momentum they had gained following their strong finish to the first half. Unfortunately, thanks to Alex Cora's decision, it wasn't meant to be.

Cora brought Brennan Bernardino, the team's primary left-handed reliever, into the game to face the top of the Dodgers' batting order with a runner on first base and one out. Shohei Ohtani was able to keep a fly ball fair down the left-field line, giving the Dodgers runners on second and third with one out. Then, Alex Cora picked his poison. He walked Will Smith to face Freddie Freeman.

Walking Smith to face Freeman in that situation makes sense for a variety of reasons. First, Smith has dominated left-handed pitching this season, posting a 1.057 OPS against southpaws. Second, it opened up the possibility of an inning-ending double play. Third, Freeman has been much better against right-handed pitching than left, and the same can be said about Bernardino against lefties than righties.

Unfortunately for Cora, choosing to face Freddie Freeman went about as well as you would've thought. The former MVP winner launched a go-ahead Grand Slam, giving the Dodgers a 4-1 lead. Los Angeles would win by that final score.

Freeman unquestionably came up to the plate looking to do damage after Boston chose to pitch to him, and he was able to do just that in a huge way.

As frustrating as a loss like this is, it's hard to blame Cora too much for his decision. Freeman is the bigger name, but Smith is arguably the bigger threat in that spot looking at the numbers. It's hard to imagine the Red Sox getting out of that situation in the lead regardless. That's just the reality of facing the powerhouse Dodgers.

Sometimes you have to simply tip your cap. Freeman is an eight-time All-Star for a reason. He came through.