Mookie Betts is Back in the Dodgers’ Lineup After Oblique Injury
Mookie Betts Returns to Dodgers Lineup After Injury
Los Angeles Dodgers’ outfielder Mookie Betts made his long-awaited return to the lineup Monday night, five weeks after being sidelined by a right oblique injury.
Betts, an eight-time All-Star, was positioned to bat second in the lineup, directly behind Shohei Ohtani and ahead of Freddie Freeman, as the Dodgers faced off against the San Francisco Giants.
“We just have to make sure we swing at good pitches,” Betts commented ahead of the game. “Those guys are good, too. They drive nice cars, too. We just have to control the zone, swing at good pitches.”
The Dodgers had struggled recently, losing seven of their last 11 games while averaging three runs or fewer in eight of those contests. With Betts back, the team hoped to revitalize their stagnant offense.
"I know I’m not the hero,” Betts said, reflecting on his return. “It’s important for everyone to know it’s going to take all of us and not just one guy getting through their struggles or whatever it is.”
Before his injury, Betts was batting .179 with two home runs in eight games. "I just didn’t really realize how long it takes for it to really heal,” he explained. “I felt pretty good pretty fast actually. But just some of the movements I couldn’t do kind of lingered for a long time. I was trying to hurry, but obviously the doctors were saying it just takes a month for it to heal.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced that Betts would start at shortstop for both Monday and Tuesday’s games before taking a planned day off on Wednesday. “After seven days, six days, I think he’s going to want to be in there regularly, but we’ll kind of see,” Roberts added.
Betts had demonstrated promising form during spring training, boasting a .357 batting average and a .786 OPS in five games before leaving briefly for the birth of his third child. However, his performance had dipped in the initial weeks of the regular season prior to his injury.
Roberts is proceeding cautiously with Betts’ offensive return, noting that the 33-year-old had only played two minor league rehab games, going 2 for 5. “Certainly two games of rehab, taking batting practice, a day of live at-bats, is not ideal,” the manager commented, “but I think with Mookie you just don’t know. The hope is that he can kind of hit the ground running.”
As Betts rejoined the roster, infielder Alex Freeland was assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Freeland had been hitting .235 with two homers and eight RBIs in 33 games. The front office decided to retain second baseman Hyeseong Kim due to his better performance. “What it came down to is Hyeseong has performed better,” Roberts stated.
