The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday in a 6-2 win, taking down their Freeway Series opponent after some 10th inning heroics from Mookie Betts.
Both teams remained deadlocked at two a piece heading into extra innings, and following an RBI single from Miguel Rojas that broke the tie, the top of the lineup kicked in. Angels manager Ron Washington opted to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani with two outs, setting up Betts with two runners on and two outs.
Betts stepped in against Angels right-hander Roansy Contreras, saw a first-pitch slider in the heart of the strike zone and slugged it for a three-run home run. It was his 15th home run on the season, and his fifth since returning to the team on Aug. 12.
The decision to walk Ohtani to face Betts was the correct move in terms of handedness, however, it opened the door for another former MVP in a big spot, per Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
“I understand their perspective,” Betts said of Ohtani getting walked in front of him. “So I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit.”
Betts’ 421 foot blast emitted a great deal of emotion as he crossed home plate, putting an exclamation point on a current hot stretch from the pair of MVPs at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup. The Angels were in a bind, with Washington making the logical move in wanting a righty at the plate, it just didn’t work out:
“It’s a tough situation to walk a guy that got $700 [million] to get to the guy that got $350 [million],” starting pitcher Walker Buehler joked of Ohtani and Betts. “He’s pretty good at baseball too.”
Currently, the Dodgers are 7-3 over their last 10 games, taking two-of-three from the Baltimore Orioles, then three-of-four from the Arizona Diamondbacks. A win over the Angels, in the fashion they did, was a nod to the offense stepping up after a lull during the middle innings.
Given the fanfare and historic run that Ohtani is on, it’s easy to forget Betts is a world-class talent. His heartbeat in big-spots isn’t unbeknownst to his teammates, and is something that Ohtani noted when speaking following Tuesday’s game:
“I’m not really surprised that Mookie came through in that kind of fashion,” Ohtani said. “It’s the kind of way we like to finish the game.”
The Dodgers are currently 9-7 in extra inning games this season and 28-14 in interleague matchups. Since the start of August, they’ve gone 21-9 while extending their lead in the National League West.
Getting their offense clicking at the correct spot in the season, with enough battle-tested situational wins, is what the Dodgers require to ready themselves for a postseason run.
Dodgers’ hot stretch fueled by ‘character’
The team has gone an impressive 11-3 since Aug. 18, which includes series wins over the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Orioles and Diamondbacks.
Not allowing adversity to get to them, with teams on their heels, is something that players and coaches believe has their teams in a great spot.
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