Mookie Betts hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday and securing the weekend series.
After Shohei Ohtani was hit on the left forearm by a sinker from Richard Lovelady (3-5), Betts swung at the first pitch he saw from Lovelady and sent it over the left-center field wall, putting the Dodgers back in the lead.
This was Betts’ 13th home run of the season and his third since returning to the lineup after missing nearly two months with a broken left hand.
“I was just looking for a strike to swing at. I’ve been getting a lot of strikes, especially early in the count,” Betts said about his first home run at Dodger Stadium since June 2. “I knew it was a double at least, which would have given us a chance to put one across the board.
And so that’s all I really cared about. Just get us a lead and get into the ninth and finish it out.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts mentioned after the game that scans on Ohtani’s forearm came back negative and that he was feeling fine.
“You always hold your breath. Fortunately, it hit him on the forearm,” Roberts said. “When you start talking about little bones in the hands and things like that, four to six weeks at this time of the year is a scary one.”
Kiké Hernández scored first with his ninth home run in the fifth inning, helping the NL West leaders improve to 5-1 on their nine-game homestand.
The Dodgers have the best record in the majors at 78-53 but only have a three-game lead over Arizona in the NL West. Their next challenge is a three-game series against Baltimore.
“Those other teams are really getting hot, and they’re playing very well, and so it was just important for us to keep playing the game,” Betts said. “We just have to keep being who we are and doing the same things we always do.”
