The sequence repeats itself over … and over … and again.
The crack of a bat and thud of a ball, as long as home runs hit in empty seats. The flash of lights and the roar of a false audience, artificial cheers become the soundtrack of a night story by Chavez Ravine.
At the center of it all was Mookie Betts, who made his name in MLB’s history books with his sixth career game of three at home. At 27, the Dodgers outfielder agreed to an all-time mark previously shared only by Sammy Sosa and Johnny Mize.
“I just learned that today,” Betts said of his record with three home games. “[Is it] shocking? No. But I just find it pretty cool. ‘
Sosa and Mize have played 33 combined seasons in their careers in the major leagues. Betts’ history-making masterpiece, which helped the Dodgers to an 11-2 victory over the San Diego Padres, happened in just its seventh MLB campaign – the first truly signature performance of its short time in LA.
Mookie Betts hits three home games in the Dodgers’ win over the Padres.
“It’s obviously a great feeling to know that you can go up and just ride and not worry about the rest of it,” Betts said. “These times don’t happen very often, so you just enjoy when it’s here.”
Batting leadoff for the first time since August 2, the place in the order that Betts has said he is most comfortable, the former American League MVP was drilled into the side by a fastball from Padres starter Chris Paddack last night to begin.
On his next three trips to the plate, however, Betts only needed one swing to leave the park each time.
In the second inning, he rode the other side a Paddack fastball outside, and sent a two-run shot to right-center field. In the fourth, he jumped on a high heater from relief Luis Perdomo who removed the fence in left center.
And when an inverted doubles match extended the Dodgers’ threat in the fifth, Betts claimed a two-run blast that landed under a collection of cardboard fans in the first few rows of the bleachers’s. left field – barren witnesses of his wizardry at the dish.
‘I have put in so much work, I work a lot, ”Said Betts. “To see some success is definitely a sigh of relief. But I have a lot more work to do. It’s a long season. We want to win a World Series. I’m just working to do that. ”
Mookie Betts hits his third home game of the game in the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres on Thursday.
(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Betts, who added an infield single in the seventh to record his first game of four seasons, was not the only Dodger who went deep Thursday.
Corey Seager, returning from a five-day absence due to a back injury, brought Betts home in the first with a long ball to the right. AJ Pollock later ruined a solo to the left later in the opening frame, taking his team temporarily on big flights with his fifth of the season. And one at-bat before forcing Betts into the fourth, Austin Barnes strapped a two-run homer to the left for the first back-to-back home runs of Dodger hitters this season.
When Betts returned to the dugout after that fourth inning frenzy, a voice was heard on the Dodgers bench asking, “Who’s next?”
An end later it turned out that it was Betts again.
Initially, it looked like Betts would not retire in the fifth, after Barnes appeared to roll in an in-depth doubles match. The Dodgers successfully responded to the call, however, with the video review revealing that Padres second baseman Jurickson Profar did not step on the bag while making the innings.
After advancing three-and-one in the next two-out at-bat, Betts launched a center-splitter high in the night sky, completing his first three-homer appearance since July 26 last season , when he was the third New York Yankees at Fenway Park as a member of the Boston Red Sox.
According to STATS Inc., it was also Betts’ third time hitting three home goals in the first five innings of a game, a performance that was unmatched in baseball history.
“[He has] a lot more power than I expected, ”said manager Dave Roberts. ‘You know there’s the bat-to-ball. You know the defense, the arm strength, the accuracy, the foot speed … But the way he can practice a baseball impresses me. ”
So much so that Roberts had kept Betts for most of the leadoff spot for Thursday, where the four-time All-Star was a solid base during his career in Boston.
But with the Dodgers’ mishap in recent days, and Seager healthy enough to take the two-place, Roberts stumbled Betts back to the top of the order. The leading team leader, who now has the most home points of the club (seven) and is the joint leader with Justin Turner with 15 RBI, made sure the move paid off.
San Diego Padres vs. Los Dodgers highlights.
“What a special night,” Roberts said. ‘He just makes everyone around him better. He was all over the field last night, picking up a pop-up in short right field right behind second base. Hit the three homers. The hit by pitch. The infield single. He’s just a very unselfish player. ”
When asked after postgame if he felt the pressure of the 12-year-old, $ 365 million contract extension he signed this precision season with the Dodgers, Betts gave an answer in advance.
“Of course,” he said. ‘I’m the man, you think so. But I work so hard for it, to be successful. I’m hungry to be successful. I will always have that in my back, my hunger. Of course I have to learn new pitchers [in the National League], that will be the hardest part. But I will work my ass to be the best I can be. ”
What exactly is what Betts was up to on Thursday night displayed the ultimate levels of his skill set in what could be the first of many record-breaking nights in a Dodger uniform.
“Obviously, that was a very big move for us and we’ve been really excited about it for a very long time,” Seager said. “Just being able to see him first hand is pretty special.”
