Dodgers host the Rockies, counting on Mookie Betts great recent form

Mookie Betts is finally looking like his old self since early August, and the Dodgers host rookie Chase Dollander, who has struggled mightily again...

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

Not all last-place teams are created equal. That won’t necessarily be the message laid out in the Dodgers clubhouse ahead of this Monday’s game against the Colorado Rockies; it might as well be. After a nightmare of a road trip against the Pirates and Orioles, the Dodgers go further down the MLB Power Rankings, returning home to host the 40-103 Rockies. Amidst all the negative points we could focus on these days, the light at the end of the tunnel for this team is Mookie Betts’ resurgence. After a largely

underwhelming campaign for most of 2025, Betts is teasing us with a return of that All-Star bat, which could be a game-changer for the Dodgers.

Much was made of the Dodgers’ star-studded squad ahead of the season and the ceiling this team would have. Nearing the playoffs, while things clearly aren’t working out like it was expected, the Dodgers need those stars to deliver them, plain and simple. This is what happened on Sunday, with Betts and Shohei Ohtani doing all of the heavy lifting, combining for three homers and four RBI in a 5-2 win.

Since going 3 for 4 in a blowout win at St. Louis about a month ago, Betts has been outstanding, hitting for a .330 AVG and smashing five of the 16 homers he has this season. The Dodgers’ shortstop still has time to surpass the 19 bombs he hit in 116 games last year.

One of those good performances in the middle of this exciting run came when he had to fill in for Ohtani as the team’s leadoff hitter on the road against Chase Dollander and the Rockies. The Dodgers were playing a day game right after Ohtani pitched, and they decided to give him a breather, which moved everyone up a spot in the order. Betts set the table, getting on in four of his last five at-bats, and the Dodgers feasted against Dollander, winning that game 9-5.

On any given day, any pitcher in the big leagues is capable of giving an offense fits if everything lines up for him. Accounting for that, the Dodgers could not ask for a better get-right scenario than hosting the 2-12 Dollander and his 6.77 ERA, which is somehow significantly lower than his numbers against the Dodgers, having allowed 10 runs in 9.1 innings facing Los Angeles.