SAN DIEGO —
Playoff baseball is disturbing sufficient with out feeling such as you’re letting your workforce and a whole fan base down with each empty at-bat, which is why Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts pulled proper fielder Mookie Betts apart for just a little chat throughout Monday’s off-day exercise in Petco Park.
Betts struck out, grounded out and walked 3 times — two of them intentional — in Saturday evening’s Nationwide League Division Sequence-opening 7-5 win over the San Diego Padres in Dodger Stadium, and he was hitless with a strikeout in 4 at-bats in Sunday evening’s 10-2 Sport 2 loss.
The veteran proper fielder who starred on either side of the ball throughout the workforce’s run to the 2020 World Sequence title. is now three for 44 (.068) in his final 12 playoff video games relationship to Sport 4 of the 2021 NL Championship Sequence, together with an 0-for-11 collar in final season’s three-game NLDS sweep by the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Roberts thought Betts, who turned 32 on Monday, had good at-bats in Sport 1, however he might sense Betts gripping the bat just a little tighter in Sport 2.
“I don’t know if it’s angst or the pressure of past performances starting to kind of bleed in, but that’s something I don’t want to happen,” Roberts mentioned. “I believe he’s going to come to life. I know he has the talent. Obviously, he’s not afraid of the situation.
“So for me, it’s more of just go out there and compete your tail off. It’s up to all of us to make sure that he’s in a good head space to go out there and compete and not get too worried about each particular at-bat.”
Roberts wished to remind Betts on the eve of Tuesday evening’s Sport 3 in Petco Park to maintain his eyes on the highway forward and cease staring within the rearview mirror.
“The fact is you can’t change the last X amount of postseason games,” Roberts mentioned. “I understand the burden a player might have, but all anyone is concerned about is right now and how to best prepare yourself mentally for [Tuesday] night and the first at-bat. So that’s going to be basically my message.
“When you look at [great] postseason performers, it’s not that they over-performed their career stat line from the regular season. What they’ve done [in the playoffs] is what they’ve done in the regular season. But on that stage they’re considered [great] postseason players. So in this particular case, all we expect is for Mookie to be the same player he is in the regular season. And that’s it.”
Betts, who spoke with psychological abilities coach Brent Walker for a number of minutes on the sector throughout Monday evening’s exercise, took no comfort in the truth that he was robbed of a house run when Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar leaped above the brief left-field wall and into the gang to catch his first-inning fly ball Sunday evening.
“It’s an out,” Betts mentioned. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a groundout, flyout, strikeout, it’s an out. It’s all the same.”
Betts, an eight-time All-Star and the 2018 American League most useful participant with the Boston Purple Sox, mentioned he took 300-400 swings within the batting cage on Monday, “and I still have more to do,” he mentioned. “It is what it is.”
Has Betts reached some extent the place he has to show his mind off and let his instincts and talent take over?
“No,” he mentioned. “If I turn my brain off, it’s going to get worse. I have to keep trying.”
Roberts acknowledged that the narrative about Betts’ postgame struggles could also be weighing on the participant.
“Yeah, I think so, but that’s natural,” Roberts mentioned. “Certainly, there’s been a lot of talk about it. He’s mentioned it himself. For me, it’s two games and [six] official at-bats. I don’t want him to get caught up in that. It’s important for him to just be himself.”
Betts mentioned it’s practically “impossible” to not let previous postseasons bleed into this one, “especially when, and you guys are doing your job, but you’re asking about it, so there’s no way to get away from it,” he mentioned.
“The world knows. It’s not like it’s a secret. I know. Nobody is telling me anything I don’t know already. Nobody can be harder on me than myself. The only thing I can really do is look forward. I know it’s there. … I’m trying, man. That’s all I can say.”
Betts spent 4 ½ seasons because the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter earlier than struggling a left-hand fracture when he was hit by a pitch in mid-June. Shohei Ohtani moved to the leadoff spot in Betts’ absence and hit so properly that he remained there when Betts returned in early August, Betts transferring to the second spot.
However Roberts mentioned that as of Monday, he hadn’t given any thought to transferring Betts again to the leadoff spot, the place Betts is likely to be extra snug and get extra fastballs to hit with Ohtani batting behind him.
“I just don’t think hitting first or second at this point is going to change much,” Roberts mentioned. “I think Shohei is in a really good spot. We scored a lot of runs this year. And I just don’t think that after two or three games, [the situation] calls for that.”
Who’s on first?
First baseman Freddie Freeman, who was pulled from Sunday evening’s recreation within the sixth inning due to right-ankle discomfort, obtained therapy on Monday and didn’t apply with the workforce on the sector Monday evening.
Roberts mentioned he expects the left-handed-hitting Freeman, who had two hits and stole a base on his severely sprained ankle in Sport 1, to play in Sport 3 on Tuesday evening, however he would possibly relaxation Freeman in Sport 4 if the Padres begin left-hander Martin Perez.
Roberts mentioned he has given no thought to taking Freeman off the NLDS roster, a transfer that might forestall Freeman from enjoying within the NL Championship Sequence if the Dodgers advance.
