Maybe it's the fact the Los Angeles Dodgers' regular season actually began the 2025 season two weeks ago in Japan with the Tokyo Series. Maybe it's simply because the Dodgers pay their players too much to get anything less than the absolute best out of them.
Whatever it is, the reigning World Series champions proved they're in midseason form on Friday night as Mookie Betts launched his first walk-off homer of the year, sending Dodger Stadium into a frenzy and showing a hopeful Detroit Tigers team exactly how hard it'll be to dethrone them.
The 10th inning blast was the second home run of the night for Betts.
MOOKIE BETTS WALK-OFF HOMER! UNBELIEVABLE! pic.twitter.com/PpYP5FpVcd
— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2025
Never count out the defending champs 😤
— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2025
(MLB x GEICO) pic.twitter.com/udQ1IZL7S6
The only thing that makes this more impressive — other than the fact the Dodgers were trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the 10th — is that Betts is still recovering after losing 20 pounds due to a stomach virus he caught shortly before the team left for a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo.
Los Angeles won both games without Betts in the lineup and manager Dave Roberts admitted the team considered shutting down their former MVP to start the season. Instead he was in the lineup on Friday as the Dodgers received their World Series rings.
Then Betts proved why Los Angeles is the biggest preseason favorite to win it all again in 21 years. The Dodgers are now 4-0, and while the NL West doesn't feel out of reach just yet, maybe giving them a two-game head start on the season wasn't the best idea for the rest of the division.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Mookie Betts hits walk-off homer after losing 20 pounds to stomach virus
