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The top of the Dodgers order is a lot less scary without Mookie Betts in the leadoff spot. Betts on Sunday was hit by a fastball and broke his left hand. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game it won’t require surgery and that Betts won’t be out for the season. While overcoming his absence won’t be easy, Shohei Ohtani’s performance Sunday helped provide some optimism that Los Angeles can still score plenty while their leadoff man and MVP candidate is out.
Ohtani belted a pair of long balls to lift LA to a 3-0 win over the Royals in the rubber match of their three-game skirmish. His first was a solo shot in the third to put the Dodgers up 1-0. His second of the game, and 19th of the season, was in the sixth inning to extend the lead he personally built to 2-0.
Putting Ohtani in the leadoff spot while Betts is out isn’t probably the move. It would maximize his at-bats and he’s getting on base at a .382 clip. However, Ohtani is at his best helping the Dodgers offense when he’s planting baseballs in the bleachers. Ideally he’d be doing that while there are runners on base, and not having Betts diminishes his chances to come up with runners on.
It won’t be easy to piece together a lineup without Betts in it. Navigating that issue might be Roberts’ toughest job all season. That job gets way easier though when Ohtani is having the kind of impact he had Sunday. He has to hit for power. In June he has reached base in 12 out of 14 games, but the power numbers are not good. He has just one double in the month and four home runs before his pair Sunday. The two homers could be a sign that more extra-base hits are on deck for Ohtani as the ascension to the mean comes for the reigning American League MVP.
If he’s able to start generating more power like he did to start the year while continuing to get on base at the same rate it would go a long way toward helping the Dodgers replace Betts no matter who is asked to take on that job.