Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts believes the battle for the NL West with the San Diego Padres will actually help the team in October.
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In a conversation on his podcast, Betts spoke with Will Smith about the tight division race amid the Dodgers’ final regular season series against the Padres this weekend.
“I kind of appreciate this because it forces us to play the whole season,” Betts said on B/R Walk-Off. “I remember my first couple of years we won the division with weeks left in the season.
“But now with being tied in the division, it’s going to help us in the long run.”
The Dodgers have won the division every year for a decade, with the exception of 2021 when the San Francisco Giants wore the NL crown. That season, the Dodgers made a first-round exit in the playoffs.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has expressed how important winning the division is for the Dodgers, and things are coming down to the wire for LA.
Heading into Sunday’s series finale, the Dodgers offense has generated just two runs between the first two games at Petco Park. Aside from two solo homers from rookie Alex Freeland, the Dodgers lineup has gone 3-for-54 with zero runs batted in.
The Dodgers have simply not been able to produce thus far in the matchup, and it’s cost LA the lead in the division. The Padres sit alone in first place of the NL West, and are looking to sweep the defending champions over the weekend.
It remains to be seen whether the tight division race will benefit the Dodgers come October, but LA will certainly have to match the Padres’ intensity in the final regular season matchup between the two NL West rivals with first place on the line.
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Photo Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
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8 Responses
Nothing this team does now, will help it in October. Watching the 2025 Dodgers underperform this season has been anything but fun. We don’t hit with runners in scoring position. Our bullpen blows saves. Very uninspired by this team.
Ha! Yeah Betts, it’ll help. Help bury ya’ you knumbskull! You’re one of the main reasons for the poor performance!! And all you do is just continue with your rally killing, inning ending, game failures!
Yeah Mr. Magoo, like you could do better? LMAO!….Maybe you haven’t noticed that Mookie has been significantly better at the plate the last few weeks. For whatever reason players get in batting slumps. It happens. Yeah it’s a bummer but it happens to most players. Mookie’s slump was a doozie but it looks like he’s coming out of it.
I’ve been a Dodger fan since I was about 6 years old (1956). I’ve seen great Dodger teams and lousy ones but I’ve always stuck with them and this year will be no different.
Although I think Magoo’s comments are unfairly harsh about Betts, it is fair for fans to raise concerns. I think it’s more on Conforto and now Kennedy, neither of whom should even be on this roster. I’m not there with you as far as duration, but have been a fan for over 50 years and have always stuck with them, for good and for bad. When they have the payroll they have (something longtime fans always hated the Yankees for), the expectations are and should be higher. This year, they are playing uninspired and underperforming, and that includes Betts. 24-26 in their last 50 games. That’s approaching 1/3 of the season at sub .500 baseball. That’s ridiculous.
In no way am I implying I could do better. But I’m not making $350,000,000 on a ten year contract. I’ve been a fan since I was 8 in 1958 when they moved to Los Angeles. I watched games at the colosseum and followed the exploits of Sandy Koufax, the greatest pitcher I have ever seen along with other memorable moments, but this year has been particularly infuriating as I’ve seen a lot of what appears to be unfocused and uninspired baseball from the likes of multi-million dollar players, like with Betts, and Conforto. I don’t feel that way about Feddie Freeman, who I think is a joy to watch and worth the price of admission. Max Muncy is fun to watch. But I don’t feel that way about Betts. I cringe when he comes to the plate. Unfortunately, he’s proven to be cringeworthy.
In 2021, the Dodgers beat the Cardinals and Giants in the playoffs before losing to the Braves.
100%. CT3 walk off in single game vs. Cardinals and a strikeout looking to end game 5 vs. the Giants!! Article has it wrong. This was first time two 100+ teams faced each other in the NLDS. Uh, we don’t need to talk about the NLCS.
Now the race begins! It boils down to a thirty-one game schedule. Because of management, that should not be the case. I read recently that Dave Roberts stated that the best players are going to play. Since that is going to be the plan for the rest of the season, why wasn’t that the plan for the first 131 games? If that “plan” had been followed, perhaps the Dodgers would have the division nearly clinched by now. If this season ends badly (even though I’m still optimistic), point the finger directly at management!