Dodgers Interview: Mookie Reflects on Showing up Big Time in Wild Card Series
LOS ANGELES — Two games. Two wins. Six hits for Mookie Betts, including three doubles on Wednesday, and the Dodgers are moving on. After Game Two, Betts sounded calm and practical about how this club handled the punch in the mouth and answered back. He kept coming back to the same thing: play clean baseball, one pitch at a time, and trust the group.
“It’s hard to rank teams,” Betts said when asked to compare this club to past Dodgers and Red Sox groups. “I know we can win the whole thing. We just have to play good baseball. We have to continue to pitch, have timely hitting, and play defense, and everything should be okay.”
He didn’t want to compare this year to last year. “Not really, just two different teams,” he said. “Last year we didn’t have as much starting pitching. This year we’re pretty deep in starting pitching. Different players, a different vibe. It’s a different year, and we just enjoy where we are.”
On the season’s bumps and how that shaped October, Betts pointed to the mental side. “We have gone through a lot,” he said. “We had a lot of struggles all year, but we all viewed that as tests to see how we would respond. Now we’re using those tests to respond and be ready. Anything that comes our way can’t be worse than what we already went through. We just keep a positive mindset and keep going.”
Wednesday night fit that template. “Going down quick, especially with an error like that, could really deflate you,” Betts said. “But we’ve been through so much that we know it’s just a matter of time. We’ve just got to play one inning at a time, one pitch at a time. That’s what I love about this team.”
Personally, he isn’t dwelling on the box score even after three doubles and a three-RBI night. “It’s been cool,” he said. “I’m just happy I can help the boys win and contribute. It’s better late than never. I went through arguably one of the worst years of my career, but it made me mentally tough. There’s a different level of focus and it’s not on myself. It’s on winning the game.”
The sixth-inning turning point started with traffic and no outs, then swung on defense and a strikeout. “That was a tough situation,” Betts said. “We were trying to limit it to one run. If he could get a punchout right there, maybe we had a chance to get out of it with no runs. I was able to make a nice play, then he got the punchout we needed. Once he got two outs, I think he smelled blood and just attacked and got the last strikeout.”
Asked about the decision on that throw home, he kept it simple. “Honestly, I don’t even know what happened,” he said. “I just know I caught it and threw it home. First time playing short in the playoffs, different situations. In the regular season maybe my brain is to go to second. I just reacted, and that’s why I’ve been able to play short and be comfortable out there, because I’m just kind of playing.”
Teams keep choosing to put Shohei Ohtani on to get to him. He expects more of that next round. “Nothing goes through my mind,” Betts said. “I wouldn’t let Sho swing either. I expect the Phillies to do it. I expect it for the rest of the postseason. I understand Sho, I understand the situation, and I’ve just got to be ready to do my thing.”
He’s ready either way. “If there’s a man on base and Sho’s up, I’m anticipating an intentional walk,” he said. “If they do, cool, I’ll be ready to go. If they don’t, you’ve got to deal with Sho. It is what it is.”
That’s Betts in October: steady voice, clear eyes, and a bat that keeps finding the alleys. Six hits in two nights, three doubles in Game Two, and a dugout that follows his tone. “We just have to play,” he said. One inning at a time. One pitch at a time.
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