Dodgers: Freddie Freeman’s fall landed him on the injured list. The Dodgers placed their star slugger on the 10-day IL on Thursday after the World Series MVP sprained his surgically repaired right ankle in a slip in the shower at home last weekend. The incident happened Sunday, an off day for the defending champions. Freeman has played in just three games so far. He missed the opening series against the Cubs in Tokyo with left rib discomfort and sat out this week’s three-game series against his old team, the Braves. The Dodgers are off to an 8-0 start and open a six-game trip Friday at Philadelphia. They recalled catcher Hunter Feduccia from Oklahoma City to fill the roster spot. Freeman described the shower slip as a “freak accident” and said his wife, Chelsea, joked: “I thought I was going to deal with this when you’re 70, not when you’re 35.” Even his 4-year-old son, Brandon, piled on, saying, “Daddy, you got another boo-boo.” Freeman sprained his right ankle on a play at first base in late September and struggled in the first two rounds of the postseason, but it was hardly evident during the World Series. He homered in the first four games and had 12 RBIs as the Dodgers beat the Yankees in five games. He had debridement surgery in December to remove loose bodies in the ankle.

Nationals: Nationals right-hander Michael Soroka went on the 15-day injured list Friday with a strained biceps in his pitching arm after hurting himself in his first start with the club. The 27-year-old Soroka left his start against the Blue Jays on Monday with what he called “a feeling that shouldn’t be there” after spiking a slider in the sixth inning. Soroka gave up four runs and took the loss in the Nats’ 5-2 setback that day, part of a 1-5 start to the season for the Nationals entering Friday night’s home game against the Diamondbacks.

Pirates: The baseball season is a week old. Some fans in Pittsburgh, however, have already seen enough. A plane carrying a banner urging Pirates owner Bob Nutting to sell the team flew over PNC Park on Friday ahead of the Pirates’ home opener against the Yankees. The banner also included a link to a website urging fans to find ways to protest Nutting’s stewardship. The Pirates have just four winning seasons and three playoff berths since Nutting took over as owner in January 2007. The club has finished last or next to last in the NL Central each of the last year years, and the organization did little in free agency to boost an offense that ranked the worst in the majors last season. Coming off 28 losing seasons in 32 years, the Pirates entered Friday 2-5 after dropping a pair of road series in Miami and Tampa Bay. Manager Derek Shelton was booed during pregame introductions. “I really respect and appreciate the passion of our fans,” Nutting said. “I understand their anger and I understand their concern and I understand that they want the team to win. I do too, that’s the most important thing we’re focused on.”