Dodgers Announce Mookie Betts Out of Lineup Ahead of Yankees Game
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees square off for a three-game series at Chavez Ravine beginning Friday, in what promises to be one of the most talent-loaded in-season matchups of the year.
Advertisement
The Yankees, who were embarrassed by the Dodgers in five games in the Fall Classic last year, clearly have had this series marked on their calendar as their first opportunity to exact revenge on their new rivals.
With the Yankees' acquisitions of Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt, this series promised the first ever game in MLB history with both teams having three former MVPs.
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (37), shortstop Mookie Betts (50) and first baseman Freddie Freeman (5). Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
However, ahead of the Dodgers' long awaited Friday against the Yankees, they announced a surprising omission from their lineup.
Infielder and 2018 MVP Mookie Betts was absent from the Dodgers' starting lineup, per MLB.com's Sonja Chen.
Advertisement
The rest of the lineup rounded out as expected, with Shohei Ohtani leading it off, and Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman representing the bulk of the order.
Friday's game would be just the second game out of 55 games this season that Betts would miss. Betts has appeared in every game since March 29, when he was sidelined by a stomach virus that caused him to lose 20 pounds.
The reason for Betts' absence remains unknown, but it could simply be gamesmanship on the part of Dave Roberts, as Betts has hit to a .641 OPS and .204 average against lefties.
Potential Cy Young candidate lefty Max Fried takes the mound for the Yankees in Hollywood tonight.
Related: Yankees Announce Jazz Chisholm Jr. News Before Dodgers Series
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
With what she's done in Caitlin Clark's absence, should the Fever's Kelsey Mitchell be considered for WNBA MVP?
The groin injury that kept Caitlin Clark out of the TD Garden matchup in July still had her sidelined a month later. Meanwhile, Aari McDonald , who was signed on a hardship contract because of Clark's injury, broke a bone in her right foot earlier this month, bringing her season to an end. Sydney Colson tore her ACL in the same game, ending her season, too. Then Sunday, Sophie Cunningham had to be helped off the floor after suffering a right knee injury. Somehow, the Fever still have the sixth-best record in the league. The same way, they somehow climbed out of a 21-point hole and dashed out of Connecticut with a 99-93 win. Mitchell scored 38 points, 34 in the second half. It was her second 30-point game this month and fourth of the season. Advertisement The Fever are hanging on by a thread, and that thread is Mitchell. 'I don't even think there are any words,' forward Aliyah Boston said. 'When you look at Kelsey's play and you look at what she means to this squad, coming out of that second half and going off the way that she did, I think it kind of speaks for her case in general. Advertisement 'She comes out, she defends, she scores the ball, she plays 40 minutes a game, and she still consistently puts up these numbers. I feel like, if she's not MVP, shoot.' As recently as two weeks ago, any MVP conversations would have been short. Napheesa Collier was far and away the best player in the league, anchoring the best team in the league on both sides of the floor. But a right ankle injury has had her sidelined for the past two weeks with no timetable for a return beyond 'before the end of the season.' She's missed four games over that span and seven overall, raising the question of how many games a player can miss and still be the league's MVP, and opening the door for other possibilities. Some of those possibilities are familiar names. Three-time MVP A'ja Wilson , coincidentally, has gone on a tear while Collier has been sidelined, and Wilson's Aces are back among the top teams in the league. Alyssa Thomas , the 2023 runner-up, has been a force all season, nearly averaging a triple-double (16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 9.1 assists). Allisha Gray is having the best season of her career (averaging 18.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists) and has the Dream in second place. Mitchell might not be the conventional MVP candidate, but there's a case to be made. There's no criteria for MVP, but the winners generally fit a certain mold. For one, they don't miss many games. When Jonquel Jones won the award in 2021, she missed five games, the most an MVP ever sat out. Often, MVPs come from the best teams in the league. Twelve of the 28 MVPs were on the team with the best regular-season record, and eight were on the No. 2 team. Lauren Jackson , however, was an exception in 2007, when she won it on a Storm team that went 17-17. She also averaged 23.7 points and 9.7 rebounds, and already had an MVP trophy from 2003. Advertisement Scoring can vary. Wilson's 2024 season was undeniable. She averaged 26.9 points while pulling down 11.9 rebounds per game. But in 2011, Tamika Catchings won it while averaging just 15.5 points for a first-place Fever team. The bulk of the WNBA's MVPs averaged between 17 and 24 points per game. Quietly, Mitchell has built an MVP résumé this season. She's tied for third in the league in scoring behind Collier and Wilson, and the Fever have needed every bit of it with Clark out. They're 8-5 with Clark and 11-11 without her. If Clark returns this season, she'll rejoin a team still in the thick of the playoff race, thanks in no small part to Mitchell. Mitchell would be an MVP outlier, but oddly enough because of how many games she's missed, so would Collier. Is Mitchell a long shot? Maybe. Is she worth considering? Sure. Has it crossed her mind? 'I haven't even thought about that,' she said. Who's hooping? Jewell Loyd, Las Vegas Aces: Loyd had made 213 consecutive starts dating to 2019, before going to the bench last month. Ten games into her new role, she's finally looking comfortable, averaging 14.6 points with a 45.7/43.8/81.8 shooting line. Veronica Burton, Golden State Valkyries: The only 30-point triple-double in WNBA history belongs to Sabrina Ionescu, but Burton flirted with the achievement in a win last week over Washington. She put up 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, going 10 for 13 from the floor, including 6 for 9 on 3-pointers. Advertisement Appointment viewing Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces, Thursday, 10 p.m.: The Aces have won nine of their last 12 and are riding a seven-game streak. The Mercury, on the other hand, have had a hard time beating the teams at the top. Of their 14 losses, nine have come against the Lynx, Liberty, and Dream. New York Liberty at Atlanta Dream, Saturday, 2 p.m.: The Dream dropped two of their first three meetings to the Liberty, and what stung about them both were the leads they let slip away. In June, they blew a 17-point, third-quarter lead. In July, they let a 19-point, second-quarter lead unravel. But for a team that's been near the top of the league all season, the Dream have a sense that they can compete with the defending champs. Julian Benbow can be reached at
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Bernabel's walk-off single helps Rockies beat Dodgers, ending 10-game losing streak to Los Angeles
DENVER — Warming Bernabel lined a game-winning single in the ninth inning as the Colorado Rockies snapped a 10-game skid against the Dodgers by rallying to beat Los Angeles 4-3 on Monday night. Ezequiel Tovar started a one-out rally with a bloop double that a charging Teoscar Hernández couldn't corral. Bernabel followed by sending a cutter from Justin Wrobleski (4-5) up the middle to bring home Tovar.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rockies were once in danger of breaking MLB mark for losses. Now, they're piling up wins
DENVER (AP) — This was a cool moment for Warming Bernabel — being doused with an icy bucket of water. Not that long ago, winning moments like this were few and far between for the Colorado Rockies. That winning feeling, though, has returned a little more often in the second half of the season. The Rockies rallied to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on Monday night courtesy of Bernabel's walk-off single in the ninth inning. With that, the Rockies snapped a 10-game skid against the Dodgers. They also tied their season-high winning streak of four games. Even more, they're 14-15 since the All-Star break, while the NL West-leading Dodgers are 13-15. Colorado still trails the defending World Series champions by 35 games in the standings. No longer are the Rockies in imminent danger of setting a modern-era major league mark for losses, though. At 36-89, Colorado needs to win six of its final 37 games to steer clear of the dubious record set by the 2024 Chicago White Sox, who finished 41-121. 'We're at this stage right now where we're trying to get better as a team,' All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman said. 'We're trying to play the game the right way and do things to put us in a position in the future to get to the spot that some of these teams we're playing against are in.' Colorado has won five series since the All-Star break. That after winning just two series before the break. 'You definitely see flashes,' Goodman said. 'We're a super-young team. But getting that learning experience and figuring out how to win at this level and how to do it together as a team has been pretty cool to watch the last month or so.' The last time Colorado beat the Dodgers was Sept. 21. It's been a little longer since the Rockies last beat Los Angeles at Coors Field — June 19, 2024, to be precise. 'It's good to get a win. We're playing good baseball right now,' Goodman said. 'It's just going out and playing clean baseball and playing the way we've been playing.' The Dodgers entered the four-game series in the Mile High City fresh off a sweep of rival San Diego. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts insisted his team wouldn't overlook the Rockies. 'We're going to get their best. We're prepared for that,' Roberts said before the game. 'But yeah, absolutely, teams try to kind of use us as a marker. We see that.' In the ninth inning, the Dodgers were playing their outfielders deep to prevent a double. It ended up costing them one. Ezequiel Tovar started a one-out rally with a bloop double that a charging Teoscar Hernández couldn't haul in. 'It's a big outfield,' Hernández explained. 'I tried to make a play. I didn't.' Bernabel followed by sending a pitch from Justin Wrobleski (4-5) up the middle to bring home Tovar. 'There's no cooler way to win a game in baseball than a walk-off,' Goodman said. 'It's always fun when that happens.' ___ AP MLB:
