The King is down and maybe out for a minute or two for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Mookie Betts took one for the team as any leader would do as the defending World Champions were trying to rally in the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
READ MORE: Mookie Betts’ Lemon Pepper Freestyle Flow Is Just Different
In the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss on Monday, Betts was facing Rafael Montero who was clearly looking to pitch him inside and broke him off with a 95 mph fastball that rode inside, nailing the MVP and two-time champion on the inside of his right forearm. The only good news for Dodger fans at that moment was that Betts ate it like a Lunchable and went to first base representing the tying run.
However, it was clear from the outside that the injury was going to affect Betts for some time at least. He struggled to get his protective base running glove over the area on his forearm that was hit. It became clear that this was not a rub-some-dirt-on-it type injury because there was no faking the pain on the grill of one of the game’s great poker faces. As fate would have it, Betts was retired when Seager grounded out into a game-ending double play that killed the rally.
Betts was not in Tuesday’s starting lineup for LA’s series finale with the Mariners (a 1-0 win) and they are off until Thursday. It’s still not clear whether or not the 2018 AL MVP will miss significant time.
Betts is the irreversible force in L.A.’s lineup and they are already missing his presence after mustering just one run on Tuesday. The Dodgers are loaded, but any extended absence by Betts definitely weakens them on offense and defense.
Recent Comments