On Saturday, Mookie Betts was left out of the Dodgers' lineup for the first time since July 1. Dave Roberts explained the reasoning, but fans could draw their own conclusions; Betts has been having the worst season of his career at the plate, after a delayed start from a virus that caused him to lose almost 20 pounds. Through July 18, he was batting .241 with a .688 OPS.
After the game, Roberts insisted that he wasn't going to move Betts down the lineup despite his struggles. The next day, during LA's season finale against the Brewers, he did exactly the opposite and swapped Betts and Shohei Ohtani's usual spots in the order to put Betts at leadoff for the first time since June 16, 2024.