Mookie Betts returns to the Dodgers’ lineup after an oblique injury

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mookie Betts returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup Monday night, five weeks after being sidelined with an oblique injury.

The eight-time All-Star went 1 for 5 with a single and a strikeout hitting second behind Shohei Ohtani and ahead of Freddie Freeman in a 9-3 loss in the series opener against the San Francisco Giants.

“We just have to make sure we swing at good pitches,” Betts said before the game. “Those guys are good, too. They drive nice cars, too. We just have to control the zone, swing at good pitches.”

The Dodgers have dropped eight of their last 12 games and were looking for Betts to help jumpstart a stagnant offense. They have scored three runs or fewer in nine of those 12 games.

“I know I’m not the hero,” said Betts, the 2018 AL MVP. “It’s important for everyone to know it’s going to take all of us and not just one guy getting through their struggles or whatever it is.”

Betts was batting .179 (5 for 28) with two home runs in eight games before he went on the injured list April 5 with a right oblique strain.

“I just didn’t really realize how long it takes for it to really heal,” he said. “I felt pretty good pretty fast actually. But just some of the movements I couldn’t do kind of lingered for a long time. I was trying to hurry but obviously the doctors were saying it just takes a month for it to heal.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Betts would start at shortstop Monday and Tuesday before taking Wednesday off.

“After seven days, six days, I think he’s going to want to be in there regularly, but we’ll kind of see,” Roberts said.

Betts was on a tear in spring training, hitting .357 with a .786 OPS in five games before briefly leaving the team for the birth of his third child. He cooled off the first two weeks of the regular season before getting hurt.

Roberts is taking a wait-and-see approach toward Betts’ offense. The 33-year-old shortstop was 2 for 5 in two minor league rehab games.

“Certainly two games of rehab, taking batting practice, a day of live at-bats, is not ideal,” the manager said, “but I think with Mookie you just don’t know. The hope is that he can kind of hit the ground running.”

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With Betts’ return, infielder Alex Freeland was sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was hitting .235 with two homers and eight RBIs in 33 games.

The front office chose to keep second baseman Hyeseong Kim over Freeland.

“What it came down to is Hyeseong has performed better,” Roberts said.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb