For the first time in weeks, Freddie Freeman felt no pain.

The champagne and beer that showered him and his teammates Friday night after the Dodgers' Game 5 victory in the National League Division Series might have helped. The painkillers he took before the game (all doctor-prescribed, he makes sure to note) probably worked, too.

But for Freeman, it was a mix of adrenaline, relief and gratitude that eased most of the pain in his badly sprained right ankle — at least for a little while.

“I don’t feel anything right now,” he said, smiling from the corner of the clubhouse, shielding his injured foot from the celebratory commotion around him. “So maybe we should just keep winning.”

Dodger Freddie Freeman is at first after hitting a single in the first inning of Game 5 of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Friday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Even in Freeman's limited state, the Dodgers have won games with his help.

In four starts in the NLDS, Freeman recorded four hits, held his own defensively and even stole a base in Game 1. In the NL Championship Series opener, he reached base three times and drove in one run. And even after a 5-0 loss in Game 2 on Monday, his .273 batting average is third-highest on the team this postseason.

“He’s sacrificing his body right now,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He does a lot of things that people don’t know about to stay on the field.”

Since twisting his ankle in a base-run mishap on Sept. 26, Freeman, along with the Dodgers' medical team – and in particular physical therapist Bernard Li – has developed a daily routine in which he receives hours of treatment after a painstaking process to get ready to play.

On game day, Freeman will arrive at the stadium six hours before first pitch. He spends most of his time stretched out on the trainer's table.

Li, a third-year Dodgers employee who has also worked with the Angels, Lakers and USC, will put Freeman's ankle through a series of exercises and medical “modalities,” Freeman said, with the goal of reducing the swelling and giving him enough To provide relief to be able to play that evening.

“He put on extra muscle trying to get the swelling out of my leg and ankle,” Freeman joked.

Each session lasts up to four hours. And as Freeman described it, it's anything but a spa experience.

“Believe me, it’s not my fault that I’m comfortable,” said Freeman, who has resorted to crossword puzzles to keep himself occupied during his rehab work. “Being pushed along with a sprained ankle is not very comfortable. … I wish it would just lie there and they would rub me, but that’s not how it usually works.”

Dodger Freddie Freeman talks with first base coach Clayton McCullough after hitting a single in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Mets at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Once Li's treatment is complete, Freeman will begin his pregame routine. He will swing in the batting cage. He will stretch and take ground balls up the field. And there's the matter of mentally preparing for nine innings of postseason baseball.

“He was as committed to a rehab program as anyone from the second it happened,” said Brandon McDaniel, the Dodgers’ director of player performance, who along with Li oversees Freeman’s daily schedule. “He’s locked up from the moment he gets here. …It must be mentally taxing. But it’s really, really impressive.”

That doesn't mean it gets any easier.

Although Freeman knows his sprain won't heal this postseason, he and the team have been focused on preventing it from getting worse. Their latest idea: Wrap his foot with reinforcing sparrow tape for the final three games to minimize the chance of him rolling it again.

When Roberts was recently asked if he had ever seen a player do that, he laughed.

“Not in this sport,” he said of a method more commonly used by NFL linemen. “Maybe on the gridiron.”

McDaniel added, “Ultimately it's about learning every day, 'Okay, this is great.' This is hard for you. You can do this.' Certain things bother him, others don't. We learn as we go, so to speak.”

The only game Freeman missed this postseason was Game 4 of the NLDS, when he and the team decided over breakfast to take a rest day after the first three games. He also has to deal with a secondary problem.

Game 5 was another close call, with Freeman's status unclear until 90 minutes before first pitch. That day, Freeman ran into a problem when he took grounders before the game. Pushing off his right foot to reach left and cover first base gave him trouble. In a game where the winner could win everything, the problem threatened to stop him from playing.

However, Freeman was always determined to sneak out to the bullpen as fans filed into the stadium. For several minutes he experimented with different ways to cover the pocket, testing alternative routes to the base and ways to place his feet there.

“I tried a few things,” Freeman said. “And I got to a point where I could.”

So he limped back to the clubhouse and marched straight into Robert's office.

“I can go,” Freeman told the manager.

Then he set the tone with a hit in the first inning.

“You can see he’s out there working hard,” said teammate Max Muncy, who has moved from third base to first base when Freeman isn’t on the field. “When one of your people goes through that, it’s hard not to go out and do what you’re going to do.”

In the sixth inning that night, Muncy and his teammates returned the favor.

After Freeman pushed to his right to put a ball in the hole and throw a throw to cover pitcher Evan Phillips at first, I thought, 'Come on, you gotta get there, you gotta get there,'” Freeman said later with a laugh – the other three infielders took part in a mound visit between Phillips and catcher Will Smith.

As Freeman gathered himself at first base with a few deep breaths, the hit took longer than usual. It was intentional.

“Back in the day, when there was no limit on mound visits, it was done to give the pitcher a break,” Muncy said. But this time we said, 'Hey, this is for Freddie.' This is not for Evan.' We had to give Freddie a breather.”

Fans cheer as Freddie Freeman meets Mookie Betts after he crosses home plate and uses the hug to help him stop while being hit by a during the first NLCS game against the Mets on Sunday at Dodger Stadium sprained ankle.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

In Game 1 of the NLCS, Mookie Betts offered Freeman another assist, catching him in his arms after the big first baseman was waved home.

“I'm only 170 pounds and he's a big guy who's about to collapse,” Betts said afterward. “Luckily I lift weights so I was able to hold him.”

Freeman faced another test this week, with three straight games following a cross-country flight. But Roberts said the Dodgers' goal is to have Freeman in the lineup every game – he hopes the more they win, the more he'll be distracted from the pain.