LOS ANGELES -- Manager Dave Roberts made the decision to leave Mookie Betts out of the starting lineup for Saturday night's 8-7 loss to the Brewers, giving the starting shortstop an opportunity to reset amid a season-long scuffle at the plate.
"I don’t know how long it’s going to be," Roberts said. "It could be one night. It could be two. My expectation is he’s going to be back in there tomorrow. But I think for me, it’s going to be a day-to-day thing. It’s going to be my decision on how I feel he is mentally to take on that night’s starter."
Given that Betts, along with those of his teammates who were also not in Atlanta for this year's All-Star festivities, just got four days off, this was not a scheduled rest day. After seeing Betts' frustration from before the break lingering into Friday night's loss, Roberts decided he needed more time.
"He wants to do well. He’s not used to struggling like this," Roberts said. "I think he’s playing great defense. There’s a part of it where you feel like you’re letting people down, letting the team down. That weight that is just natural for him to carry is there."
Through 90 games this season, Betts is slashing .241/.311/.377 with 11 homers, 45 RBIs and 56 runs scored. His .688 OPS was better than only Michael Conforto's .617 mark among the Dodgers' eight qualified hitters.
Betts also got a day off on July 1 -- which Roberts described as "probably more of a mental day" -- after which he went on to hit safely in six of his next nine games. But he went hitless in the final two games of the first half, as well as Friday's second-half opener, sitting on an 0-for-12 skid entering Saturday.
It has been far from a typical year for Betts, who lost 18 pounds after contracting a stomach illness at the end of Spring Training and was still regaining strength early in the regular season. He also had a freak injury in the beginning of June, fracturing one of the toes on his left foot at his home.
Betts has not directly attributed his struggles to his illness or injury, nor to his position change to shortstop. As Betts has previously pointed out, in 2024, he was actually a more productive hitter as a shortstop (.907 OPS in 280 plate appearances) than as a right fielder (.840 OPS in 179 plate appearances).
"It's been really tough. But it kind of is what it is," Betts said at the end of June. "I've never played short every day, but I don't think that's really playing a part. Being sick and just kind of playing catchup -- there's a lot of variables that go into it, but you got to figure it out."
Betts isn't the only one scuffling in the vaunted top three of the Dodgers' lineup -- since June 1, Shohei Ohtani, Betts and Freddie Freeman have combined to post a .679 OPS. Before then, the trio of MVPs had combined for a .959 OPS.
Roberts said while there has been some thought of moving Betts out of the two-hole -- where he's exclusively started this season -- he is expected to return to that spot in the order when he's back in the lineup.
"If I felt a change, a different look in the lineup would help performance, I would do it. I’d be all in," Roberts said. "But where he’s at, I just don’t think moving him down, I don’t think it would affect the psyche. I just don’t think it would be beneficial."
On Saturday night, Ohtani drove in three runs and went 2-for-5, including a two-run homer -- his 33rd of the season -- that helped him reclaim a share of the NL lead, while Freeman went 0-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.
Much of the Dodgers' lineup has been scuffling in their past 11 games, in which they've gone 2-9. The big three bats atop the order can be tone-setters when they're going right -- and a turnaround could help the offense as a whole get back on track.