Mookie Betts returns to the Dodgers' lineup after an oblique injury
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mookie Betts returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup Monday night, five weeks after being sidelined with an oblique injury . The eight-time All-Star was set to hit second behind Shohei Ohtani and ahead of Freddie Freeman in the series opener against the San Francisco Giants. “We just have to make sure we swing at good pitches,” Betts said before the game.
“Those guys are good, too. They drive nice cars, too. We just have to control the zone, swing at good pitches.
” The Dodgers had dropped seven of their last 11 games and were looking for Betts to help jumpstart a stagnant offense. They scored three runs or fewer in eight of those 11 games. "I know I’m not the hero,” said Betts, the 2018 AL MVP.
“It’s important for everyone to know it’s going to take all of us and not just one guy getting through their struggles or whatever it is. ” Betts was batting . 179 (5 for 28) with two home runs in eight games before he went on the injured list April 5 with a right oblique strain.
"I just didn’t really realize how long it takes for it to really heal,” he said. “I felt pretty good pretty fast actually. But just some of the movements I couldn’t do kind of lingered for a long time.