Betts hits season's 1st HR, drives in 6 and wins a new car

SEOUL -- As he transitions to shortstop on defense, Mookie Betts is often the first player on the field before each game. He has been determined all spring to prove to everyone he can play the premium position at a high level.

One thing Betts doesn’t have to prove, however, is his prowess at the plate, and that was on display once again in the Dodgers’ 15-11 loss to the Padres in Game 2 of the Seoul Series on Thursday at Gocheok Sky Dome. The 2023 National League Most Valuable Player runner-up put on quite the show at the plate, hitting the first homer of the 2024 MLB season in the fifth inning off Michael King.

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With the homer, Betts earned himself a Hyundai IONIQ 5 car because he was the first player ever to go deep in a game in South Korea.

“Fantastic game on both sides of the baseball,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “He’s a spark plug. And as everyone knows, as he goes, the offense goes. He just continues to take really good at-bats. He’s feeling really good at the plate. … He’s just doing everything we need from him.”

In the two-game series against the Padres in Seoul, Betts went 6-for-9 with a homer and seven RBIs, six of which came in the finale. The half-dozen RBIs are tied for the third most in a game in his career and his highest total since 2017. That’s also tied for the second most RBIs in a single game by a Dodgers shortstop, behind only Glenn Wright’s seven on July 14, 1930.

Betts reached base safely in nine of his 11 plate appearances against the Padres. He cut Los Angeles’ deficit to 12-11 in the eighth with a two-run single off Padres closer Robert Suarez.

It was ultimately too little too late for the Dodgers, who were put in an early five-run hole as Yoshinobu Yamamoto struggled in his big league debut. But even in a losing effort, Betts showed why he’s one of the best players on the planet.

How did it feel to hit one of the two home runs at Gocheok Sky Dome, where only Betts and Manny Machado went deep despite the teams combining for 33 runs in two games?

“It was cool,” Betts said. “But we lost so it doesn’t matter. You gotta get the W’s and then we’ll be able to be happy and cheer.”

For the Dodgers to get those wins, they decided midway through the spring that their best defensive alignment includes Betts at short, a position he had not played regularly since his senior year of high school. Despite some positives through two games, Betts sees room for growth defensively.

“This is what I expect of myself,” Betts said. “I hold myself to a very high standard. I did OK. I missed a couple balls today that I need to clean up. But I expect greatness out of myself.”

Considering the combination of his defense at a premium position and the show he put on at the plate, Betts already looks like someone who is poised to be in the NL MVP conversation once again.