After missing four games due to lower back tightness, All-Star right fielder Mookie Betts returned to the Dodgers starting lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium.

“I don’t know exactly what happened, but it was kind of bugging me running,” Betts said during his Zoom media session prior to Tuesday’s game. “That’s a big part of my game. We’ve got guys to step in and play how we’ve been playing. We’ve pretty much won every game, other than one, that I haven’t played. So I think that just shows how deep we are. We don’t really need me.”

Yes, Mookie, we do.

Betts said earlier that his back stiffness did not affect him while hitting.

He was right.

After being a late scratch last Wednesday on getaway day in Oakland and with the Dodgers having scheduled off days on Thursday and Monday, the Nashville, TN native and fifth-round draft pick in 2011 by the Boston Red Sox out of Overton High School in Nashville had six consecutive days off but missed only four games. He resumed his role as the Dodgers leadoff hitter on Tuesday night. And though he managed only one hit in his five at-bats, that one hit was a 394-foot solo home run down the left-field line into the area that was once affectionately called “Mannywood.”

“I didn’t hear anything [about Mookie’s back], so that’s a good thing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the Dodgers 7-0 shutout of the Rockies. “He looked like he was moving well, took some good swings, so he’ll be in centerfield tomorrow.”

Speaking of that 7-0 shutout, 30-year-old Dodgers right-hander Trevor Bauer was nothing short of sensational in his third start of the new season, tossing seven innings of shutout/one-hit ball. The Southern California native and first-round draft pick in 2011 by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of UCLA grew up a diehard Dodgers fan in nearby Santa Clarita and often attended games at Dodger Stadium with his family. As such, you can imagine his excitement making his first start at Dodger Stadium in a Dodger uniform.

“It was fun,” Bauer said. “Walking out pregame I was all excited seeing all the fans in the stadium and happy to be able to turn in a solid performance and get a win.”

Solid indeed. As noted, Bauer did not allow a run and gave up only an infield hit to Rockies centerfielder Garrett Hampson on a soft comebacker, while walking two and striking out nine.

“I think that Trevor, what can you say, the guy competes. He makes pitches when he needs to,” Roberts said after Bauer’s brilliant outing. “Early on, there was a little stress and got out of that inning unscathed and got through seven innings. So, that’s why he’s a star pitcher. Fun to watch, fun to watch him compete.”

Fun indeed.

Play Ball!

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