Why did Dodgers scratch Mookie Betts from lineup vs. Yankees? Everything we know about player’s injury

Los Angeles Dodgers fans received unfortunate injury news ahead of the NL West team's highly-anticipated clash against AL East leaders, the New York Yankees, on Friday.

The Dodgers scratched former MVP Mookie Betts from the lineup for the series opener at Dodger Stadium on Friday. MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported that the All-Star was removed due to a toe injury.

According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Betts had trouble putting on the shoe after the innocuous injury but was available to pinch hit for the team in the series opener.

The star shortstop's injury extent will be revealed after his X-ray results as he is day-to-day for the time being. The cause of the injury remains unknown.

"I feel confident saying it's day-to-day," Roberts added, "but putting on a shoe today was difficult for him."

Following the game Roberts updated on Betts' injury, saying that the former MVP is unlikely to be placed on the injured list but will not play in the series against the Yankees.

Mookie Betts' injury followed by injury setback to Evan Phillips

Mookie Betts wasn't the only setback for the team as the Dodgers received more bad news about one of their pitchers. Reliever Evan Phillips, who has been out of action for the last three weeks due to a forearm issue, will undergo a season-ending surgery.

“Evan tried to play catch a couple days ago when we were on the road and it didn’t go well, so he’s going to get Tommy John surgery on the 4th," Roberts said on Friday. “Unfortunately that’s going to be season-ending.”

Phillips' injury is another addition to a long list of Dodgers pitchers on the injured list, including Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki. Roberts had no explanation about the latest setback.

"It just keeps coming," Roberts said referring to the injuries. "It's Murphy's law, but yeah, this is a weird one."

The Dodgers will have Tony Gonsolin start against Yankees ace Max Fried for the series opener of last year's World Series replay on Friday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash