DENVER -- Instead of participating in the All-Star Game festivities, Mookie Betts decided to use the break in order to heal up from some nagging injuries that bothered him throughout the first half of the season.

It appears the four-day break was exactly what Betts needed, as the former American League MVP is off to a blazing start in the second half and is starting to look more like himself. His four-hit night in the Dodgers’ 9-2 win over the Rockies on Saturday at Coors Field was the latest evidence that Betts might have figured something out.

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“I think I just found a little something that I can continue to repeat,” Betts said. “The break did some good for me.”

Betts’ break included going back home to Tennessee, visiting his AAU basketball team and spending time with family and friends. He was also able to work on his swing without worrying about results. Betts even added some pilates to his four-day break.

All of that seemed to do the trick for Betts, who categorized his first half as “bad.”

“Going home was huge,” Betts said. “Happy I got that break.”

For the second consecutive game out of the break, Betts led off the game with a double, coming around to score on a Max Muncy single to give the Dodgers the early lead. In the third, Betts hit his 14th homer of the season and his third in his last four games. In his third at-bat, Betts laced another double down the left-field line and came around to score again on yet another Muncy RBI single.

Betts’ fourth at-bat had a familiar result. He benefited from some miscommunication from the Rockies’ outfield and recorded his third double of the night. But before Betts stepped on the second base bag, he slowed down and was in obvious pain. After a short meeting with manager Dave Roberts, Betts was removed from the game with right hip irritation.

“It’s been kind of nagging at him all year,” Roberts said of the injury. “I think a lot of the running of the bases, outfield, caught up to him and it irritated a little bit. I’ll have him down [on Sunday] and he’ll be ready for the series on Monday.”

Betts echoed what Roberts said, emphatically saying “I’m good” and that the irritation is one of the many nagging injuries he’s dealt with this season. He doesn’t believe it’ll slow him down at all, which is a good sign for the Dodgers, considering this is the hottest stretch of the season for Betts.

With his 4-for-4 performance on Saturday, Betts has recorded three or more hits in three consecutive games. Betts is now 7-for-9 since the All-Star break and has 12 hits in his last 16 at-bats. If you go back to the last week before the break, Betts is 16-for-35 with four homers and 14 runs scored in his last eight games.

“He’s paid a lot of money for a reason,” said Rockies starter Kyle Freeland. “He’s one of the best in the game for a reason. I made one mistake to him, and that was the home run. Other than that, the other two pitches were quality pitches that he put quality swings on.”

Betts said an improved swing path is a big reason for his recent success. He’s hitting the ball on a line more often and he’s making plenty of hard contact. Betts recorded three hard-hit balls on Saturday and now has 11 batted balls with an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher in his last four games.

Before Saturday’s game, Roberts said his team goes as Betts goes. That was evident during the World Series run in 2020 and, despite Betts’ relatively slow first half, that has been the case again this season. With his four-hit performance on Saturday, the Dodgers have won 14 consecutive games when Betts records two or more hits and are 18-6 in such games this season.

Muncy also had a huge night for the Dodgers, smashing two homers and setting a career high with five RBIs. As a team, the Dodgers have scored 48 runs over their last four games and are starting to look like the potent offense everyone expected them to be. Betts and Muncy are the ones leading the charge.

“If we can play our baseball, play the way we play,” Muncy said, “it's gonna be really dangerous for the rest of the second half.”