Dodgers: Mookie Betts and Dave Roberts Give Nods to the Bottom of the Lineup

When Mookie Betts won the American League MVP Award in 2018, he drove in 80 runs, with 79 of those RBIs coming from the leadoff spot. That's his career high for RBIs from the top of the order, but with 29 games remaining this season, he's knocking on the door.

Betts has driven in 74 runs this year, all from the first spot in the lineup, and he's a virtual lock to set a new career high before the season ends. While 33 of those RBIs have come from driving himself in with a homer, the other 41 have been the product of a very productive bottom of the Dodgers lineup.

Dodgers 6-9 hitters have the best OPS in baseball, the most runs scored, and the second-most RBIs. Gavin Lux has been outstanding in those spots all year, and Cody Bellinger's most productive at-bats have come from the bottom of the order. The same can be said for Chris Taylor. Lux, Bellinger, and Taylor have been driven in by Betts a combined 25 times, and Betts recognizes how important the production from the bottom of the lineup has been, according to Dodger Insider's Cary Osborne.

“Without the bottom half there’s no way we are in the spot that we’re in,” said leadoff hitter Mookie Betts, who hit two doubles in the game and drove in a run. “It takes a whole team. We’ve been able to kind of put it together throughout the season, and sometimes it’s the top, sometimes it’s the bottom. But us as a team, we’ve just been huge working together.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recognizes it, too.

“Because of the top and the middle, we have guys that are on base. And so the bottom three guys are going to get opportunities,” Roberts said. “Joey [Gallo] had a big hit today. Cody turned the lineup over a few times tonight. CT has been getting a little bit more on track. So yeah, we need that length. We need all those guys.”

The Dodgers built their team to have a relentless offense with no breaks for the opposing pitchers. So far, so good.