LOS ANGELES — Months into an intensive stoop on the plate, may Mookie Betts be starting to show a nook?
Betts knocked in three runs — together with a go-ahead two-run homer, his first in additional than a month — because the Dodgers rolled to a series-opening 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Friday night time at Dodger Stadium. Betts backed six sturdy innings of one-run ball from Clayton Kershaw, who bested Max Scherzer in a battle of future Corridor of Famers.
First Betts made an influence along with his glove, diving to his proper to snag a liner off the bat of Myles Straw and flipping the ball to second for an inning-ending double play that stranded the bases loaded within the high of the second.
Then got here a game-changing swing within the backside of the fifth, when Betts took Scherzer deep for his first house run since July 5. The 2-run blast to left gave the Dodgers a one-run lead, which Betts padded two innings later when he reached on a fielder’s option to knock in one other run.
“I simply suppose there’s much more confidence, conviction within the swings,” supervisor Dave Roberts stated. “When the ball’s within the hitting zone, he is squaring it up. And we feed off of Mookie, and the power that he gives for our ballclub. And you’ll really feel it within the dugout.”
Since ending an 0-for-22 skid that included the one five-game hitless streak of his profession on Tuesday, Betts has picked up an extra-base hit in three straight video games for the primary time for the reason that starting of Might. With two months left within the common season, Betts has acknowledged {that a} full turnaround will not be within the playing cards.
It will doubtless go down as his worst offensive season by a number of measures, amongst them the primary beneath league-average OPS+ of Betts’ 12-year large league profession.
In a means, accepting that has been useful for him.
“My season’s type of over,” Betts stated. “We will need to chalk that up for not an incredible season. However I can exit and assist the boys win each night time, do one thing, get an RBI, make a play, do one thing that I’ll need to shift my focus there. Clearly, everybody needs to have nice seasons, but it surely’s so much simpler once you simply don’t fret concerning the season.”
If Betts can put collectively a robust stretch run, it may do wonders for the Dodgers.
“He will get going,” Kershaw stated, “this lineup will get scary actually quick.”
Betts is the sort to attempt to clear up each downside via laborious work, and lately, he bought some steering from his former teammate and good good friend, J.D. Martinez. It did not spark rapid outcomes, however Betts felt that he took one thing constructive away from being round Martinez.
“I went 0-for-16 when he was there,” Betts stated. “So I do not know that one thing essentially clicked in. However largely it was just a few confidence, man. Simply confidence in my skills, and do my finest to consider in myself.”
Maybe that was what Betts has wanted most of all on this making an attempt season.
