LOS ANGELES -- Rather than move a struggling Mookie Betts down in the lineup, manager Dave Roberts is hopeful that hitting up top will help the starting shortstop return to form at the plate.
Betts led off for the Dodgers in Sunday afternoon's finale against the Brewers, his first start atop the order since June 16, 2024. Shohei Ohtani had been L.A.'s leadoff hitter ever since, save for the two games he missed while on the paternity list earlier this year.
Roberts anticipates using Betts out of the leadoff spot at least until third baseman Max Muncy returns from a left knee bone bruise, which the Dodgers' manager said could be a "couple weeks," give or take.
"Versus left, versus right, for the time being I'm going to hit Mookie at the top," Roberts said. "Hopefully it sort of lends itself to the mindset of just get on base and build innings."
Betts entered Sunday hitting .241 with a .688 OPS. Roberts gave him the day off on Saturday as an opportunity to reset, which Betts spent as he typically does, doing extensive defensive drills before the game followed by hours of work in the cage.
It has not been a typical season for Betts, who lost 18 pounds due to a stomach illness at the end of Spring Training and fractured one of the toes on his left foot a couple of months later. He is also playing a full season at shortstop for the first time in his big league career.
But Betts repeatedly insisted that none of these factors are the root cause of his extended skid at the plate.
"There's no outside reasons," he said, "outside of me."
Rather than searching for explanations, Betts is digging into how to work with his body in this stage of his career. He's looking for new cues to help nudge his swing back in the right direction, because the trusted-and-true methods he's used before are not clicking for him now.
"Things that I used to do that would get me back on track just don't work anymore, so that's kind of what makes it hard," Betts said. "Pulling from new experiences, new cues, new things. Trying to find the right answers."
Since Muncy went on the injured list on July 3, the Dodgers' lineup as a whole has been slumping. Ohtani is no exception, but overall, he's been very productive out of the leadoff spot. Entering Sunday, the Dodgers' .991 OPS from the top spot in the lineup led the Majors, more than 80 points higher than the next-best D-backs (.907).
Tommy Edman, who filled in for Ohtani while he was on the paternity list, was the only other Dodger to start in the leadoff spot this season.
While Betts has downplayed the role outside factors have played in his season-long slump, Roberts is optimistic that the lineup shakeup will help the shortstop take at-bats with a better mentality.
"With hitting, it's so kind of nuanced that there's not always one cue that gets a hitter back to feeling normal. There's a lot of internal kind of searching that goes on with the mechanics and things like that," Roberts said. "But I personally do feel that the external part of it -- hitting at the top of the order, having a mindset to get on base -- I think will help move this along better."
Betts has not experienced these prolonged struggles at the plate over the course of his decorated 12-year career. At this point, he's trying to work his way out of unprecedented territory.
"This is a process I've never been through, so I don't have any answers. I don't know how to get through this. I don't know," Betts said. "I'm working every day. Hopefully it turns."