As expected, the Los Angeles Dodgers were without Mookie Betts on Friday, who missed their series opener against the Boston Red Sox due to “personal reasons.” The Dodgers didn’t miss him too much on the field, however, beating the Red Sox 5-2 at Fenway Park.
Prior to the game, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts shared an encouraging update about Betts’ status for the rest of the series.
According to Roberts, Betts was in Nashville on Friday but is expected to return to the team close to game time (7:15 p.m. ET) on Saturday, indicating that he may be able to suit up for Saturday’s contest if he gets to Boston in time.
Betts grew up in Nashville and still has friends and family there, so his personal matter have been related to that.
If Betts does play on Saturday, it will be his first game at Fenway Park since August 2023, which was his first time returning to his old stomping grounds since being traded to the Dodgers before the 2020 season.
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Betts hammered his former team during that series, going 7-for-15 with two doubles, a homer and four RBI in front of the Fenway Faithful.
The former American League MVP hasn’t been playing as well this year, however, batting .238/.309/.370 (all career lows) with 11 homers, 45 RBI and 2.3 WAR in 94 games. He’s still been valuable on defense, though, after becoming Los Angeles’ everyday shortstop.
Time will tell if Betts gets back in time to play on Saturday, which is fortunately a night game. Even if he remains out of the starting lineup, he could potentially pinch-hit if he’s up for it.
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At the very least, it sounds like Betts will be able to play in Sunday’s series finale before the Dodgers head to Cincinnati.
