Betts is the difference: 'He bailed us out'

MIAMI -- In the series opener against the Marlins, the Dodgers committed three errors and struggled to capitalize on scoring chances early in the game. The bullpen was also not very sharp. Los Angeles did more than enough to lose.

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But none of those mistakes ended up mattering, because the Dodgers have Mookie Betts on their team and the Marlins don’t.

Betts showed the crowd in Miami why he’s one of the best players in the Majors. He recorded his first four-hit game of the season, which included two homers, to lead the Dodgers to a 10-6 comeback win over the Marlins in 10 innings on Friday at loanDepot Park.

“He bailed us out,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “It was just such a great performance. We needed every bit of it. And that’s why he’s one of the best players in the game. It’s fun to watch. What a great performance.”

Roberts is right. Betts did bail out the Dodgers on Friday. Two of their three errors helped get the winning run into scoring position in the ninth, but David Price stranded them, sending the game into extra innings.

The Dodgers were also working with a short bullpen as Chris Martin was unavailable due to an elbow issue, according to Roberts, and Caleb Ferguson was down due to his heavy recent workload. Brusdar Graterol was also considered unavailable, but he ended up pitching once the game got into extras. Roberts said at one point he considered using infielder Hanser Alberto, even during a tie game.

But all of that was erased because Betts came up big every time the Dodgers needed him to. In the seventh, Betts helped erase a one-run deficit, launching a go-ahead two-run homer off former teammate Dylan Floro.

In the ninth, with the Dodgers again trailing by a run, it was Betts to the rescue. This time, he hit the game-tying homer with one out off left-hander Tanner Scott. Not only did Betts extend the game with that homer, but he made some history in the process.

Betts recorded his 20th career multihomer game out of the leadoff spot, passing Alfonso Soriano for the most in Major League history.

“It’s pretty cool,” Betts said. “I’ve got a long time to play. We’ll see what else I can do.”

Something else Betts did on Friday was give the Dodgers the lead in the 10th inning with an RBI double, his fourth RBI of the night. With his 4-for-6 performance, Betts is 11-for-30 in his last seven games.

“I just want to win,” Betts said. “It doesn’t matter where we are in the standings. I just show up every day, and I want to win. So I just do everything I can to help the team.”

Betts is a big part of why the Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the NL West is down to just 18 on Aug. 26. He leads the team with 29 homers despite his slow start to the season. But Betts credited a lot of his success to his fellow All-Star teammates Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner.

During their conversations throughout the year, Freeman and Turner have encouraged Betts to be more aggressive at the plate. Betts said he has been too passive in the box at times during his career, including this April. But now, Betts appreciates how Turner and Freeman don’t wait for pitchers to get ahead, instead ambushing them early in the count -- understanding that a starting pitcher doesn’t go as deep into games as he once did.

“Having Trea and Freddie here has definitely changed my perspective on hitting,” Betts said. “I can take some credit. But I would give credit to Trea and Freddie because they are -- and the hitting coaches -- they’re really my backbones and who I talk to. … They basically showed me the way.”

Before the game, Roberts praised Betts for committing to play for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. It’ll be the first time Betts sports the red, white and blue in the WBC.

But on Friday, Los Angeles was ust thankful that Betts puts on the Dodger Blue on a nightly basis.