LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts had been quiet for weeks. The batting average had dipped, the power was nowhere to be found, and the questions were starting to creep in about when the real Mookie would show up. He answered Tuesday night in emphatic fashion. Betts went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs as the Dodgers steamrolled the Colorado Rockies 15-6 at Dodger Stadium, their most lopsided win of the homestand. The offense was a spectacle. But it came with a price.
Kiké Hernandez, back from the IL for just two games, left in the fifth inning with a left oblique strain. Eric Lauer earned the win in his Dodger debut, going six innings. Jonathan Hernandez followed with two clean frames before Rojas took the ball in the ninth as a position player to spare the bullpen. The cloud over the final score is what happens next with Kiké.
Mookie Wakes Up
Coming into Tuesday’s game, Betts was hitting .190 with a .679 OPS. Those are not Mookie Betts numbers, and everyone in the organization knew it. He had gone stretches without extra-base hits, gone cold in situations where he normally does damage, and the lineup had quietly been compensating by leaning on Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani, and Andy Pages to pick up the slack. Betts was still getting on base, still playing elite defense, but the offensive force that defines him at his best had been missing.
Tuesday night, it came back all at once. He set the tone in the very first inning. Freeman singled on a deflected ball through the mound, and Betts stepped in and launched his fifth home run of the season to center field, a two-run shot that put Los Angeles up before Colorado had recorded an out. The stadium woke up immediately. Then in the sixth, with Pages on second and Freeman aboard, Betts hit his sixth home run, a three-run blast to left-center that turned a game already in hand into a runway. Five RBIs in a single night is a statement from anyone. Doing it while snapping out of one of the longer cold stretches of your career makes it something worth remembering.
Pages Piles On
Andy Pages went 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, three RBIs, and a stolen base, scoring three times. His 12th homer came in the third off Kyle Freeland, a two-run shot to left-center that pushed the lead to 4-1 and knocked some of the air out of Colorado early. He then doubled twice more before the night was over, including a fourth-inning double to center that scored two and essentially ended any drama the Rockies might have been hoping for.
Pages has quietly become one of the most reliable offensive contributors on this roster. His combination of power and contact, 12 home runs and 11 doubles deep into May, suggests a player who has figured something out. On a team full of stars, he has earned his place in the middle of conversations about who this lineup leans on when it needs a big hit.
Kiké’s Return Turns Bittersweet
For the second straight night, Enrique Hernandez looked like the player the Dodgers had been missing. He homered in the third, his first of the season, and doubled in the fourth to push the lead to 5-1. Then he did not run out of the batter’s box with his usual effort after that double. The SportsNet LA broadcast caught him grimacing while rounding first and arriving at second without his typical flair. The Dodgers removed him from the game in the top of the fifth, with Hyeseong Kim entering to play second and Rojas sliding over to third.
The team announced a left oblique strain. He is now likely headed back to the injured list, less than 48 hours after being activated from it. If Hernandez does go back on the IL, the Dodgers are expected to recall infielder Alex Freeland from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers had already designated Santiago Espinal for assignment to clear the roster spot when Kiké returned, which leaves them thin at the infield depth positions heading into a stretch that includes the Phillies. He went 4-for-4 over two games, homered in both, and did not make it through the second one. For a team that has been managing the IL all season long, this one stings in a particular way.
Lauer Does His Job, Rojas Takes the Mound
Lost in the offensive show was Eric Lauer quietly having a solid debut. The left-hander, acquired from Toronto last week to slot into a six-man rotation while top prospect River Ryan continues to build back up, went six innings and allowed just one run on four hits while striking out four. He faced a Colorado lineup that has struggled all season, and he took full advantage, working efficiently and keeping his pitch count in check. For a new addition stepping cold into a Dodger uniform, that kind of start builds trust in a hurry.
Jonathan Hernandez followed with two scoreless innings, and then Roberts handed the ball to Rojas for the ninth with a 14-run cushion. Colorado made him pay. Rojas allowed five runs on eight hits, including home runs to Brett Sullivan and Kyle Karros, before the frame finally ended. The final score ticked to 15-6. It was the right call with a bullpen that had already worked the night before, Rojas absorbed the damage, and another win went into the column.
Up Next
The Dodgers close out the Colorado series Wednesday night with Shohei Ohtani on the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM PST. Updates on Hernandez’s status are expected before then, with the roster picture potentially shifting before Wednesday’s first pitch. The Philadelphia Phillies then come to Dodger Stadium to close out May.
