Dodgers confident Freddie Freeman will be ready for NLDS despite ankle sprain

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) is helped off the field after rolling his ankle during a 7-2 win over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Thursday. DENVER — As he hobbled across the field at Dodger Stadium to talk to reporters on Thursday night, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman wore three things.

A walking boot. A National League West championship T-shirt. And, most importantly in the wake of his ankle injury in that night’s division-clinching win, a relieved and grateful smile.

“It’s like a grapefruit,” Freeman said of the swelling in his sprained, but not broken, right ankle. “But they’re pretty optimistic that I should be able to go by Saturday in the playoffs. That’s…