Mookie Betts says he hasn’t been the same since fracturing his left hand last June, pointing to that injury and its two-month recovery process for his current batting issues.
“I wasn’t blaming it on my hand or anything,” he said. “I was just saying since coming back, I haven’t done anything. It’s not just this season.”
Despite that apparent correlation, Betts isn’t quite sure what’s wrong, writes Dylan Hernández at the Los Angeles Times. Betts’ grip strength is fine—better than last year’s, actually—and there doesn’t appear to be anything physically wrong with him.
So Betts is doubling down on what he does best: working hard, and keeping his head on straight.
“I hit for three or four hours a day,” he said. “At some point, your body breaks down, but I’d rather break down than not give the effort.”
The Dodgers have been very cautious with Shohei Ohtani’s pitching buildup, and so far, so good. He threw 54 pitches in four innings agains the Cardinals, but it’s unlikely that he’ll go past five innings during the regular season this year, says Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
On September 7, 2007, rookies Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer replaced veterans Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson, respectively. It was the first time that eventual Hall of Fame pitchers started against each other as rookies since 1890, writes Doug Haller at The Athletic. How’s that for a fun fact?
Planning to go shopping for some new Dodgers gear? Beware the thriving counterfeit market, writes Michael Duarte at NBC Los Angeles. Dodgers jerseys, hats, and other collectibles are among the most-faked items on the counterfeit market, as fans all over the state have found out the hard way.