LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers made quick work of the New York Yankees in the opener of their three-game series Friday night at Dodger Stadium, and probably no one in Los Angeles shone brighter than Mookie Betts, who n is no stranger to facing the Yanks.
In his first game against New York since becoming a superstar with the Boston Red Sox, Betts went 4-for-4 with two homers, three RBIs and a stolen base as LA cruised to an 8-4 win. Betts’ show of force, which included a solo homer in a six-run first inning for the Dodgers, drew argumentative praise from manager Dave Roberts.
“He’s a modern-day Rickey Henderson, instant offense,” Roberts said. “There’s a confidence in his swing and between swings. Even at times when he’s not doing well, the decision-making is still there. He’s in a good position right now.”
In response to the noble comparison, Betts was humbled but credited his maturity as the reason for his early success.
“It’s a pretty cool comparison, compared to Rickey, but Rickey was a different breed,” Betts said. “As I grew up, my profile kind of changed, and I still haven’t gotten used to it. I still see myself as a regular, typical, mid-base hitter, but I look at a bit to change and embrace it.”
The Dodgers are missing valuable pitchers through injuries, like Julio Urías, Dustin May, Walker Buehler and Tyler Cyr, but they’ve been able to count on their two mainstays, Betts and Clayton Kershaw, to lead.
Kershaw threw seven good innings, retired nine and allowed two runs via solo homers to Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson. He certainly had a cushion to work with and used it when the Dodgers came out of the gates raking runs, as they finished the first inning with eight hits and six runs against Yankee starter Luis Severino.
Betts’ first home run was the 41st of his career. And, according to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, it was his 21st homer as a Dodger, one more than he had hit in six seasons with the Red Sox.
After Betts’ homer, the rest of the lineup followed with big and key swings, including a two-run homer from third baseman Max Muncy and RBIs from James Outman and Miguel Vargas. And for good measure, Betts closed the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single.
The Dodgers kept their foot on the gas, as they netted two more runs on the night, and never let the Yankees off the hook thanks to Kershaw’s arm.
Kershaw limited defending American League MVP Aaron Judge to no hits and retired him twice. Judge is looking to have another stellar season as he is already second in the league in home runs (18).
One of the highlights of New York’s loss was Donaldson, who, like Betts, homered twice and finished with three RBIs.
Kershaw, 35, takes on a heavier load as the Dodgers deal with injuries, but he continues to show his ability to produce and his worth, after signing a one-year, $20 million extension in December.
He talked about getting back to the level he knows he can produce, especially after what he called three “bad” outings in which he pitched 12.2 innings and gave up 10 earned runs.
“It’s nice not to feel like you’re getting old,” Kershaw joked.
The Dodgers (35-23) will look to stay hot against the Yankees (34-25) for the next two games in this series, and hope to keep the judge quiet while making the most of what they got on their roster. current.
It certainly helps to have their own version of Rickey Henderson.