Seven of the nine players in the Dodgers’ batting lineup against the Angels on Tuesday are MLB All-Stars. The first five are reigning NL All-Stars. There is no escaping dominant batters when facing the Dodgers.
The Angels quickly learned that lesson in the first game of their home series against the Dodgers.
Angels’ manager Ron Washington opted to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani, which is no surprise as Ohtani leads the National League with 44 home runs this season. However, that placed two runners on base for six-time Silver Slugger Mookie Betts.
“You’re picking poison when you deal with the first three hitters,” Washington said in a post-game press conference. “I wasn’t going to let Ohtani swing there, and I have all the respect in the world for Mookie Betts.”
With one out on the board, Washington’s plan was for relief pitcher Roansy Contreras to draw a ground ball to allow the Angels to turn a double play.
However, Betts had a different idea. After the Angels chose to face Betts over Ohtani, the eight-time MLB All-Star blasted a three-run home run out of Angel Stadium to put the Dodgers up by four in the top of the tenth inning.
Did the intentional walk to Shohei Ohtani give Betts some extra juice behind his home run?
It sure looked likeit:
“I was hoping Contreras could make a pitch, get a ground ball, and get us a double play and keep the game at (1). First pitch, he left in the middle of the plate and up, and Mookie didn’t miss it. That’s what he gets paid for.
While some people may criticize Washington’s decision, hindsight is 20-20. There is no denying the star power that exists within the Dodgers lineup. If it wasn’t Betts, three-time Silver Slugger Freddie Freeman was up next – then, the reigning Home Run Derby champion Teoscar Hernandez, then two-time All-Star Will Smith. There was no escape.
“I’m mostly good tonight. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep good if I had pitched to Ohtani and he’d have done some damage. It was just the right thing to do,” Washington said to reporters. “It’s no disrespect to Mookie. None at all. I know who he is. I know who Freddie Freeman is, too. He got us.”
Betts’ home run served as a reminder of the MVP-caliber player that he is.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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