Mookie Betts hopes to continue to do historic damage in MLB on Sunday.
Betts and the Dodgers close out a three-game series in Toronto against the Blue Jays, looking for the sweep. Betts had had his offensive hand in the first two games.
On Saturday, Betts recorded three hits, scored a run, and an RBI in the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory. In the opener Friday night in Toronto, Betts had two hits, scored a run and had an RBI. Now, Betts will try to up his hitting streak of seven games with at least a knock in the finale. In his last 10 games, he is hitting .475 with six doubles, six walks and seven RBI.
Betts is white hot so far this season. He leads MLB with a .391 batting average. In all, Betts has 45 hits, nine doubles, two triples, 23 RBI and six home runs thus far this season and is looking like an early lock for the NL MVP. And he has a strong case. Including all MLB hitters, Betts, 31, is first in batting average, first in on-base percentage , and third in slugging.
“I feel like we’re seeing the MVP version of Mookie Betts,” Dodgers closer Evan Phillips told the media. “And I feel like this is who he can be for us, hopefully throughout the whole year.”
The Dodgers back during spring training had asked Betts to switch from second base to shortstop. This can be very tough for some players who aren’t versatile but that’s not the case for him. Betts, who won six Gold Gloves as an outfielder, is proving to be a true reliable source for the Dodgers at the shortstop position.
Phillips added more compliments about Betts transitioning positions and the impact for the team.
“I feel like the transition to shortstop, all the extra work he’s doing each day fielding ground balls, talking to Miguel Rojas about playing the position at a major league level – to see his focus level on a day to day, I think it’s helping him in all parts of his game,” Phillips said.
With most athletes in the big leagues, it is all about the work you put in to gain the results that are needed. Betts, the former AL MVP, is one that takes a lot of pride in his development and learning everything to the utmost extent.
“I take great pride in work,” Betts said to the media. “Learning a new position is work…. It’s been tough but it’s been fun. When you have a resource like Miguel (Rojas), it makes things a little bit easier. He’s made the process tough but fun, somehow.”
Since joining the Dodgers in 2020, Betts has scored more runs than ANY player in their first 500 games with the team. With 412 runs scored it just so happens that the player he passed in the record books for the Dodgers was none other than MLBbro pioneer Jackie Robinson. Robinson, who was the first to break down the barriers in baseball for Black players, was leading the Dodgers with this stat for almost 74 years. Jackie had 388 runs in his first 500 games, Mookie had 407 through his first 495 games which is impressive.
“Especially as a leadoff hitter scoring a lot of runs is important but it also shows that I’ve had a lot of great teammates that drive me in, so that’s not just from me,” added Betts.
With such a long season to go, Betts hopes to stay consistent and help lead the Dodgers’ stacked team – with three-former MVPs at the top of the lineup – to the NLCS and then to yet another World Series.
For sure, Betts is leading the damage being done all over baseball by the Dodgers.
Cincinnati Reds MLBbro, right-handed pitcher Hunter Greene, took the mound against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday giving up one run on four hits in a 3-1 loss at Rogers Centre. The slider was his go-to pitch as he mowed down Blue Jay after Blue Jay en route to six K’s.
The last time Greene started a game, he pitched seven and 1/3 hitless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates followed by the bullpen completing the no-hitter, but in bizarre fashion they ended up losing the game 1-0.
Greene’s 118 pitches in that game were the most any pitcher has thrown this season. He was the first Reds rookie to take a no-hitter through seven innings since Travis Wood had a perfect game going into the ninth in 2010.
The Reds became the sixth team in MLB history to throw a no-hitter and lose.
“He’s really athletic,” Toronto Blue Jays skipper Terry Francona said May 5 before the Guardians hosted the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field in the first of a four-game series.
Triston McKenzie is 6-foot-5 and listed at 165 pounds. The body-frame of McKenzie will only develop over time and improve but the Guardians brass isn’t worried. When asked about his size and if that would matter, McKenzie responded:
“I don’t know how I stay so slender. I feel like I eat a decent amount. I think it’s just how my body works……I believe baseball is very taxing. I feel like I burn through a lot of what I eat. I’d say throwing the way I do is me learning my body and learning what makes me feel good and being consistent day in and day out.”
McKenzie’s had somemore gems since that near no-hitter in 2021. Dr. Sticks (1-2) threw 6⅓ scoreless innings in his last game against the Oakland A’s.
McKenzie, held the A’s to three hits, struck out seven and walked one as Cleveland swept a series at the Oakland Coliseum for the first time since April 10-12, 2000.
McKenzie spoke to the media after the A’s game and said, “For me to be successful, a lot of it is mixing my pitches up and keeping guys guessing. We stuck to the game plan really well today.” Short and simple for the laid-back Guardians ace. “Coming up here in 2020 when stuff was a little weird (because of COVID) and evolving through last year, coming into this year, I feel a lot more comfortable,” McKenzie said. “I feel the team aspect has grown on me. I know a lot of the guys really well now.”
McKenzie made his debut in 2020.
After a rookie season where he said he didn’t feel comfortable asking certain questions around the veterans in the clubhouse, McKenzie is happy with his teammates and their bond as it continues to get better.
Guardians catcher Luke Maile has high praise for the star MLBbro young pitcher.
“Really powerful stuff, really violent,” Cleveland catcher Maile said about McKenzie’s outing. “To call pitches for a guy like that is awfully fun because even when he’s got something else in mind, you really can’t go wrong when he executes well.”
McKenzie did not allow an Oakland runner to reach second base until Chad Pinder’s one-out single put two aboard in the seventh, which is particularly impressive.
Guardians skipper Terry Francona spoke about McKenzie, saying, “He didn’t give up much. There were times where he lost the strike zone, but he reeled it back in in a hurry, as opposed to 3-4 hitters.”
McKenzie’s next start will be against the Toronto Blue Jays who have lost three of their last five games.
The MLBbro pitching phenom has an impressive resume so far in 2022, including a 2.70 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts over 23 1/3 innings of work. He will face the Blue Jays next time out. This will be a tough task as the Blue Jays have a stacked batting lineup that includes our very own MLBbro, George Springer.
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