Dodgers News: Mookie Betts Takes Accountability for Baserunner Blunder in Loss

Friday night’s game for the Dodgers was one that’s easy to want to forget. After rookie pitcher Emmet Sheehan cruised through 6 no hit innings (albeit on 89 pitches), everything quickly fell apart for LA. A night after tossing 6 scoreless innings, the bullpen crumbled, allowing 5 over two frames, taking the Dodgers from a 4-0 lead to a 5-4 deficit in a heartbeat.

But the loss wasn’t all on the bullpen.

The team played loose and sloppy on the base paths, twice leaving fans dumbfounded on what they had just witnessed. For one of the moments, Mookie Betts took full accountability. In the bottom of the 11th, the Giants misplayed a Betts infield popup that became a comedy of errors in its own right. Unfortunately, the Dodgers ended up on the bad side of what is sure to be Jomboy Media’s next great breakdown. I could sit here and type out the entire play, or you can watch it below or here.

What in the world just happened pic.twitter.com/zXG1s0lkq9

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 17, 2023

Here’s a second look that actually shows everything that lead up to Michael Busch getting thrown out at third.

Mookie Betts Oops pic.twitter.com/cmAOoDcHB8

— Mad Choriyama (@MadChoriyama) June 17, 2023

“I just thought wrong, saw the play wrong,” Betts said after the game. “As it was unfolding – just bad timing. We haven’t been playing great. Well, we’ve been playing all right, but things just haven’t really fallen our way. Just another one of those things that kicked us while we’re down. I just have to be smarter in that situation.”

Earlier, in the ninth inning, Mookie was also thrown out trying to steal third base when he was the winning run on second base with less than two outs and Will Smith at the plate plus J.D. Martinez to follow.

All in all, it’s another footnote in a stretch of unfortunate play for the Dodgers who now find themselves just 1.5 games behind the Giants for third place in the NL West.

"I was wrong." Mookie Betts takes full responsibility for his bad call to steal late in the game which cost the #Dodgers the game. pic.twitter.com/6iPh6vW2o3

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 17, 2023