WASHINGTON –– The Dodgers have their first new injury concern to worry about since the start of the regular season.
On Saturday afternoon, star shortstop Mookie Betts left the game against the Washington Nationals early with right lower back pain, according to the team.
The injury happened in the top of the first inning, after Betts drew a walk and scored from first base on a two-run double from Freddie Freeman.
In the moment, there was no outward indication that Betts was ailing. But in the bottom of the first inning, Miguel Rojas took the field in his place at shortstop.
No further information was immediately made available by the club.
Betts, 33, had gotten off to a slow opening week, entering Saturday with just a .179 batting average and .687 OPS.
However, he also had two home runs and seven RBIs, including a go-ahead two-run blast in the Dodgers’ offensive outburst on Friday.
And this spring, Dodgers personnel raved over the physical improvements he made following career-worst performance at the plate last season, hopeful he’d rebound offensively in his second full season at short.
The Dodgers were already down two infielders to start this year, with Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández opening on the injured list while recovering from offseason ankle and elbow surgeries, respectively.
Now, the team will have to wait and see how severe Betts’ issue is, too.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
