{"id":65119,"date":"2026-05-11T21:39:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T01:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/dodgers-star-mookie-betts-back-after-5-week-oblique-injury\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T21:39:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T01:39:39","slug":"dodgers-star-mookie-betts-back-after-5-week-oblique-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/dodgers-star-mookie-betts-back-after-5-week-oblique-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers Star Mookie Betts Back After 5-Week Oblique Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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LOS ANGELES \u2014 After spending five weeks on the sidelines with an oblique strain, Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts made his return to the starting lineup Monday night.<\/p>

The All-Star veteran, who has earned eight selections to the midsummer classic, was slated to bat in the second spot, sandwiched between Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman for the opening game against their division rivals, the San Francisco Giants.<\/p>

“We just have to make sure we swing at good pitches,” Betts said before the game. “Those guys are good, too. They drive nice cars, too. We just have to control the zone, swing at good pitches.”<\/p>

Los Angeles has struggled recently, losing seven contests out of their previous 11 outings, and team officials hope Betts can provide the spark needed to energize their lackluster offensive production. During that rough stretch, the club managed to score three runs or fewer in eight games.<\/p>

“I know I’m not the hero,” said Betts, the 2018 AL MVP. “It’s important for everyone to know it’s going to take all of us and not just one guy getting through their struggles or whatever it is.”<\/p>

Before landing on the injured list April 5 with the right oblique strain, Betts was struggling at the plate, posting a .179 average with five hits in 28 at-bats and two home runs across eight games.<\/p>

“I just didn’t really realize how long it takes for it to really heal,” he said. “I felt pretty good pretty fast actually. But just some of the movements I couldn’t do kind of lingered for a long time. I was trying to hurry but obviously the doctors were saying it just takes a month for it to heal.”<\/p>

Manager Dave Roberts outlined plans for Betts to play shortstop Monday and Tuesday nights, followed by a rest day Wednesday.<\/p>

“After seven days, six days, I think he’s going to want to be in there regularly, but we’ll kind of see,” Roberts said.<\/p>

The 33-year-old had been performing exceptionally well during spring training, recording a .357 batting average and .786 OPS over five games before temporarily leaving for his third child’s birth. His performance declined during the season’s first two weeks before the injury occurred.<\/p>

Roberts remains cautiously optimistic about Betts’ offensive readiness. The shortstop collected two hits in five at-bats during a pair of minor league rehabilitation assignments.<\/p>

“Certainly two games of rehab, taking batting practice, a day of live at-bats, is not ideal,” the manager said, “but I think with Mookie you just don’t know. The hope is that he can kind of hit the ground running.”<\/p>

To make roster space for Betts’ activation, the organization sent infielder Alex Freeland to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Freeland had compiled a .235 batting average with two home runs and eight RBIs over 33 games.<\/p>

Team management elected to retain second baseman Hyeseong Kim rather than Freeland.<\/p>

“What it came down to is Hyeseong has performed better,” Roberts said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Mookie Betts rejoined the team’s starting lineup Monday night following a five-week absence due to an oblique strain. The 2018 AL MVP hopes to help revive the Dodgers’ struggling offense after the team managed just three runs or fewer in eight of their last 11 games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":65118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778549979393.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-gWj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":47536,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/dodgers-star-mookie-betts-sidelined-with-oblique-injury\/","url_meta":{"origin":65119,"position":0},"title":"Dodgers Star Mookie Betts Sidelined with Oblique Injury","author":"Admin","date":"April 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts has been placed on the 10-day injured list after an MRI confirmed an oblique strain. Manager Dave Roberts expects Betts to miss four to six weeks, though he's optimistic the recovery time could be shorter.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775410568424.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":64551,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/dodgers-star-mookie-betts-ready-to-return-monday-after-month-long-injury\/","url_meta":{"origin":65119,"position":1},"title":"Dodgers Star Mookie Betts Ready to Return Monday After Month-Long Injury","author":"Admin","date":"May 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts is expected to rejoin the team Monday when they face the San Francisco Giants after being sidelined for over a month with an oblique strain. The four-time World Series champion last played on April 4 before suffering the injury against Washington.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778452621629.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778452621629.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778452621629.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778452621629.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47331,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/mookie-betts-leaves-game-early-with-back-injury-against-nationals\/","url_meta":{"origin":65119,"position":2},"title":"Mookie Betts Leaves Game Early With Back Injury Against Nationals","author":"Admin","date":"April 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts departed Saturday's game against Washington in the first inning after experiencing lower back pain. The injury occurred while Betts was running bases, and he was replaced by Miguel Rojas.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775341256579.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":72451,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/los-angeles-defeats-colorado-15-6-behind-batting-order-changes\/","url_meta":{"origin":65119,"position":3},"title":"Los Angeles Defeats Colorado 15-6 Behind Batting Order Changes","author":"Admin","date":"May 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Los Angeles Dodgers dominated the Colorado Rockies 15-6 on Tuesday, with Mookie Betts and Andy Pages thriving in new batting positions. Betts hit two home runs from the cleanup spot while Pages tied his career high with four hits batting second.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779866563830.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":46984,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/dodgers-star-studded-lineup-explodes-for-four-home-runs-in-13-6-victory\/","url_meta":{"origin":65119,"position":4},"title":"Dodgers’ Star-Studded Lineup Explodes for Four Home Runs in 13-6 Victory","author":"Admin","date":"April 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Los Angeles Dodgers' top four batters all connected for home runs in Friday's 13-6 victory over Washington. 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