By 
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers made fast work of the New York Yankees in the opener of their three-game series Friday night at Dodger Stadium, and most likely nobody on Los Angeles shined brighter than Mookie Betts, who is no complete stranger to dealing with the Yanks.
In his very first video game versus New York because he was a super star with the Boston Red Sox, Betts went 4-for-4 with 2 crowning achievement, 3 RBIs and a taken base as L.A. travelled to an 8-4 success. Betts’ program of force, that included a solo homer in a six-run very first inning for the Dodgers, drew argumentative appreciation from supervisor Dave Roberts.
“He’s a modern day Rickey Henderson, instant offense,” Roberts stated. “There’s a confidence in his swing, and in between swings. Even at times when he’s not doing well, the decision making is still there. He’s in a good place right now.”
In action to the lofty contrast, Betts was humbled however credited his maturity as the factor to his lead-off striking success.
“It’s a pretty cool comparison, being compared to Rickey, but Rickey was a different breed,” Betts stated. “As I’ve grown my profile has kind of changed, and I still haven’t got used to it. I still kind of see myself as a regular, typical, middle-base, lead-off hitter, but I kind of look at the change and embrace it.”
The Dodgers are missing out on some important pitchers due to injury, such as Julio Urías, Dustin May, Walker Buehler, and Tyler Cyr, however they had the ability to rely on their 2 anchors, Betts and Clayton Kershaw to lead.
Kershaw tossed 7 strong innings, setting out 9 and quiting 2 runs through solo homers to Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson. He definitely had a cushion to deal with and utilized it as the Dodgers came out evictions generating runs, as they ended up the very first inning with 8 hits and 6 runs versus Yankee starter Luis Severino.
Betts’ lead off homer was the 41st of his profession. And, according to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, it was his 21st lead off homer as a Dodger, another than he struck in his 6 seasons with the Red Sox.
After Betts’ homer, the remainder of the lineup followed with huge and crucial swings, consisting of a two-run homer from 3rd baseman Max Muncy, and RBIs from James Outman and Miguel Vargas. And for excellent procedure, Betts liquidated the first-inning scoring with an RBI single.
The Dodgers kept their foot on the gas, as they generated 2 more more operates on the night, and never ever let the Yankees dig themselves out thanks to Kershaw’s arm.
Kershaw restricted ruling American League MVP Aaron Judge to no hits and struck him out two times. Judge is seeking to have another excellent season as he is currently 2nd in the league in crowning achievement (18).
One of the brilliant areas in the loss for New York was Donaldson, who, like Betts, homered two times and ended up with 3 RBIs.
Kershaw, 35, is handling a much heavier load as the Dodgers handle injuries, however he continues to reveal his capability to produce and his worth, after signing a one-year, $20 million extension in December.
He discussed returning to the level he understands he can produce at, especially after what he called 3 “bad” trips in which he pitched 12.2 innings and quit 10 made runs.
“It’s nice to not feel like I’m getting old,” Kershaw joked.
The Dodgers (35-23) will want to remain hot versus the Yankees (34-25) for the next 2 video games of this series, and wish to keep Judge peaceful while likewise maximizing what they got on their existing lineup.
It definitely assists to have their own variation of Rickey Henderson.
Comments