Mookie Betts is now not ailing, lastly capable of hold meals down and consuming up a storm to pack on the load he dropped whereas battling a abdomen virus throughout the first two weeks of the season.
And, because the eight-time All-Star reminded everybody, “I’m nonetheless good at baseball.”
He absolutely is.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star hit two house runs, together with a three-run blast within the tenth inning that gave the defending World Sequence champions a come-from-behind 8-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday evening.
“That was not on my bingo card,” supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned. “He simply does some particular issues.”
The Dodgers are off to a 4-0 begin for the primary time since 1981, a yr they gained the World Sequence.
Betts had his third profession walk-off homer. Within the eighth, his first homer of the season put the Dodgers in entrance for the primary time.
“Proper now, I’m simply having enjoyable hitting 160-pound homers,” he mentioned, smiling.
Betts went 3 for five with three runs and 4 RBIs on an evening when the Dodgers acquired their glittering World Sequence rings.
“We have been joking round that that first house run he hit was most likely his greatest hope that he’s acquired proper now with all of the energy that he’s acquired,” third baseman Max Muncy mentioned, “however he one-upped it so we have been all improper on that one.”
Betts traveled with the crew to Japan for his or her season-opening two-game sequence with the Chicago Cubs. However he returned early, flying again earlier than ever suiting up due to the virus that triggered him to lose about 15 kilos.
“I’m at 165 now, so one other seven or eight kilos will assist me rather a lot, however 10 can be ultimate,” he mentioned.
How does he plan to achieve?
“Hold consuming. Simply consuming all day,” he mentioned. “My chef and spouse, each of them are doing sufficient cooking. I’m consuming throughout the sport.”
Betts couldn’t hold any meals down when he was feeling his worst, and initially not understanding what was improper added to his stress.
So when his game-winning shot off Beau Brieske sailed into the left-field pavilion, Betts pounded his fist as he rounded the bases, his head stuffed with ideas and his teammates ready for him on the plate.
“Simply the struggle that I’ve form of been via, the ups and downs, the nights the place I’m simply crying as a result of I’m sick,” he mentioned. “My spouse there and simply form of holding me. That’s actually the place that emotion form of comes from.”
Betts raised his proper arm within the air, tossed his helmet towards the dugout and hopped a couple of occasions as he approached the plate. His teammates celebrated by dousing him in water.
“I can’t say sufficient about Mookie,” Roberts mentioned. “He gained a ballgame for us.”
Betts got here to the plate within the tenth after back-to-back singles by Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani, who took second on defensive indifference.
“The stress was form of off,” Betts mentioned. “We have been going to get one other at-bat with Freddie (Freeman) there and everyone knows what Freddie does in these sort of conditions. It was simply form of chill out, should you do, cool, should you don’t that’s OK.”
And Betts did.
“I do know it sounds super-selfish,” he mentioned, “however I used to be actually pleased with myself.”
