Dodgers' Dave Roberts thinks Mookie Betts took Shohei Ohtani walks 'personal'
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It took just one swing for the New York Mets to shy away from pitching to Shohei Ohtani last night during Game 3 of the NLCS. But that change in strategy may have an unintended consequence in the form of another one of the Los Angeles Dodgers star players: Mookie Betts.
After Ohtani crushed the second pitch of the game by Jose Quintana to give the Dodgers an early lead, the Mets decided to begin to pitch around the Japanese phenom, who drew three consecutive walks following the home run. Betts seemed to take advantage of the extra attention paid to Ohtani, as he went 4-for-6 with a double, home run, and 4 RBIs in the Dodgers’ 10-2 victory.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts believes Betts, who is now sporting batting splits of .278 AVG / .381 OBP / .583 SLG / .964 OPS in the postseason, used the Mets’ pitching strategy with Ohtani as fuel for another big game at the plate.
“I think he took it the same way [Mark] Vientos took it — personal. And that’s OK. That’s OK,” Roberts said [via ESPN’s Jeff Passan], referencing his own decision to intentionally walk Francisco Lindor before Vientos hit a grand slam in Game 2. “And I think that he understands that whether it’s a manager putting four fingers up or you’re throwing intentional balls two feet outside, you’re going to go after the next guy. So I think that Mookie takes it personal like all competitors should. And I do think that stuff like that lights a little fire under him.”
Mookie Betts, Dodgers crush Mets in lopsided NLCS Game 4 win
The fire has been lit for the entire Dodgers team so far in the NLCS. Other than a 7-3 loss in the aforementioned second game of the series, the Los Angeles bats and pitching staffs have been white hot through four games.
The Dodgers opened the series with a 9-0 win and shut out the Mets again in Game 3, an 8-0 victory at Citi Field. And while the Mets’ offense was fine on Thursday — New York recorded 10 hits — their pitchers could not keep L.A. at bay.
In addition to Betts’ 4 hits and Ohtani’s leadoff home run and 3 subsequent walks, Teoscar Hernández and Max Muncy each drew multiple walks, and Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández both recorded a pair of hits on Thursday.
Now, the Dodgers need just one win in the next three games to advance to the World Series. Los Angeles is 27-17 all-time in series closeout games and has won its last seven games in these situations, dating back to the 2020 NL Wild Card. The Mets are 10-8 facing elimination.
Game 5 is set for 5:08 p.m ET / 2:08 p.m. PT today in Queens.
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