The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped Game 3 of the 2022 National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres and now find themselves facing elimination on Saturday.
After a 111-win season and taking Game 1 of the NLDS, it certainly isn’t where the Dodgers envisioned themselves, but they have gone 0-for-their-last-19 with runners in scoring position while driving in just four total runs over their two losses.
The top of the lineup has been the main source of their troubles, with Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman all failing to produce when needed.
Although the team typically goes as Betts does, the Dodgers need consistent production from all those players over their next game, and potentially Game 5. “It can’t all be on Mookie,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“It certainly makes life easier on everyone when he’s going. We feed off his performance, his energy. When he gets on base, it creates tension. Getting a guy in the stretch certainly beneficial for the rest of the guys.
“I think with Mookie, and this is going to be a good test today in the sense that it’s big stuff, and it’s kind of touching all quadrants of the hitting zone. I think the key thing for Mookie is to just kind of lock in on his nitro zone, and I guess it’s fair for any hitter, but the last thing I’m going to impress to Mookie is if he didn’t go, then we have no chance to score runs.
“I don’t believe that, but certainly it makes life a lot easier for everyone, and Mookie knows that too.”
Although Betts singled and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, the Dodgers still only scored one run in a 2-1 loss.
“Just timely hitting,” Betts said about the team’s ongoing offensive struggles.
“We’re not stringing together a lot of at-bats to score runs, we’re not hitting with men in scoring position. But they’re executing, so you can kind of look at it both ways.”
After leading MLB this season with 847 runs scored, the Dodgers lineup hitting a lull could not have come at a worse time, which is frustrating to the players, but Betts sees that as “part of the game.”
“We’re going out there and giving it our best,” he added. “We’re just not doing it right now. Tomorrow is a new day.”
Mookie Betts believes he took better at-bats
While Betts didn’t find the results he was hoping for, he did like his quality of at-bat more in Game 3 than he had in the previous games, which gives some hope going forward.
“I feel a little better,” Betts said. “I hit some balls hard. One didn’t get through, but that’s part of it. There’s nothing more I can do.”
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