Already without Corey Seager in the lineup due to a left quad issue, the Los Angeles Dodgers incurred another injury during Sunday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks as Mookie Betts was removed in the seventh inning.
The Dodgers announced that was due to Betts suffering from a sore middle finger on his left hand. Betts appeared to suffer or aggravate the injury on a swing in the fifth inning, as he shook his left hand after fouling a ball back.
He finished the at-bat with a home run that landed in the pool in right-center field but was seen speaking with a trainer upon returning to the dugout. Betts played the field in the fifth and sixth innings prior to being lifted in favor of pinch-hitter Edwin Rios to lead off the seventh.
The 2018 American League MVP got off to a bit of a slow start in his first season with the Dodgers but had begun to round into form of late. Betts attributed it to sorting through some mechanical issues, which he explained is more difficult this season due to health and safety protocols.
“I think I was just searching, trying to find the right mechanics for my swing. It’s kind of tough. With everything going, it’s hard to get enough work in,” Betts said Friday. “Fortunately I was able to get some good work in today and put together a good game.”
Betts denied feeling any pressure to impress new teammates, adding, “I just wasn’t mechanically sound, and trying to search in a game is not the best way to go about playing. You have to just focus on the game and work on mechanics later.”
Betts started all four games against the Diamondbacks, going 7-for-15 with three doubles, two home runs and three RBI.
Bellinger bounces back
Mired in a slump to start the season, Cody Bellinger was held out of the lineup Saturday with the hope he would rest. Bellinger returned Sunday and hit a line-drive home run to right field in his first at-bat.
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