It was one of those things that caused every Dodger fan on the planet to say “Oh No,” and hold their collective breaths.

In the top of the seventh inning of Saturday night’s eventual 9-2 Dodgers rout of the Colorado Rockies at mile-high Coors Field, Dodgers superstar outfielder Mookie Betts pulled up lame after collecting his fourth hit of the night – a two-out stand-up double to right/center field. Without even asking for them, Dodgers Assistant Athletic Trainer Yosuke Nakajima and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came out onto the field, and Betts was immediately removed from the game in noticeable discomfort.

“I don’t know what led to it; it’s kind of been nagging at him all year,” Roberts told reporters postgame. “So, I think a lot of the running of the bases, the outfield, kind of caught up to him and irritated it a little bit. I’ll have him down [on Sunday], and he’ll be ready for that series on Monday.”

When asked himself, the 28-year-old Nashville, TN native and (now) five-time All-Star also downplayed what was being called “hip irritation.”

“I’m good, I’m good. I mean, it’s like I said, it’s just a little thing. I just made it a little more mad today than normal, but yeah, I’m fine,” Betts said after his 4-for-4 night that included three doubles and his 14th home run of the season.

As Dodger fans know all too well, Betts entered the All-Star Break in a bit of a funk; so much so that he even proclaimed that he was surprised that he had been named to his fifth All-Star Game, although he elected not to participate.

“I was surprised,” Betts said of his 2021 All-Star Game selection. “Obviously, I haven’t played that great, so yeah, I was definitely surprised. But also very thankful for making the team again. Definitely was surprised.”

Asked about his remarkable – and immediate – success coming out of the break, Betts said that he “found a little something” with his swing.

“I just think I just found a little something that I can continue to repeat,” Betts explained. “You know, the break did some good for me. I could get some more work in, and like I said, was able to find something that I can repeat. It was just one of those things where it just, I knew there was something that was wrong, but I couldn’t really figure it out,”

He figured it out, crediting “…hitting and pilates; those were the only things I did [during the break].”

Welcome back, Mookie!

…we hope.

Play Ball!

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