The World Series rematch got off to a strong start on Friday night, as the Dodgers came back to beat the Yankees 8-5. While the first game was a star-studded affair, with Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani making history with first-inning homers, Los Angeles was missing one of the biggest names in the league.
Mookie Betts missed the first game of the Dodgers’ series vs. the Yankees on Friday night with a toe injury, which was an unexpected development for Los Angeles. Betts was healthy when he last played earlier in the week, but he ultimately had to miss a game for just the fourth time this year.
With all the eyes on Dodgers vs. Yankees this weekend, losing Betts leaves a void among the stars on the field. Here’s the latest on Betts’ injury.
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What happened to Mookie Betts?
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the media on Saturday that Betts sustained a fractured toe after stubbing his foot in the dark at his own home. Los Angeles said that the shortstop is still day-to-day, as the team hasn’t decided to put him on the injured list yet.
Betts revealed that he walked into a wall while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
“I was just going to the bathroom in the dark and hit my toe on a wall,” he said, via The Los Angeles Times.
As a result, Betts will not start during the series against the Yankees this weekend as the team assesses his injury. However, Betts is convinced he won’t be out for long.
“It’s just pain,” Betts added. “Get the swelling out, it’ll be all right.”
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Mookie Betts injury update
The Dodgers decided not to put Betts on the injured list, as they hope the shortstop will be back in action before long. Los Angeles is confident that Betts is not at risk of making the injury worse, so it will be a matter of playing through the pain.
“I know it’s at the tip of his toe, so it’s going to be one of those situations [that is] per his [pain] tolerance,” Dave Roberts said, via The Los Angeles Times. “I don’t expect an IL. We’ll probably have him down for the series, and hopefully, he’ll be available to hit in a big spot. And then we’ll kind of see. But I think for me right now it’s just day to day.”
Roberts said that Betts may be available off the bench as a pinch hitter depending on how he is feeling throughout the next two games.
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Mookie Betts stats
So far this season, Betts is off to a quieter start compared to his teammates, but he is still putting up solid numbers. Here’s a look at Betts’ season so far:
- Games: 53
- Home Runs: 8
- RBIs: 31
- Hits: 52
- Runs: 42
- Stolen Bases: 5
- BA: .254
- OBP: .338
- OPS: .742
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