Dodgers fans concerned about Dave Roberts' Mookie Betts comments ahead of Red Sox series

The Dodgers are heading to Boston off the heels of a narrowly-won series against the Twins and with a 7-11 record in July. Freddie Freeman's walk-off against Minnesota gave LA a jolt that will hopefully carry into a strong end to the month and a better August, but the Dodgers will be without one of their key pieces for at least the series opener.

Mookie Betts is expected to miss Friday evening's game for personal reasons. Dave Roberts was incredibly vague about it, saying, "There might be some things going on that he might not be around, that he's got to deal with personally. Everything is okay with him, but yeah, we'll see."

It's unclear if the absence will affect the rest of the series and it would be meaningless to speculate if it's not health-related, which it doesn't seem to be, but it's still an untimely stall for Betts, who is trying to come out of a season-long slump that's resulted in one of the worst offensive years of his career.

Lefty Hyeseong Kim could get the start at shortstop over Miguel Rojas against righty Red Sox starter Brayan Bello, and Shohei Ohtani will be easy to slide back up to the leadoff spot.

Mookie Betts expected to miss first game of Dodgers-Red Sox series for personal reasons

Betts has spent four games in the leadoff spot so far, which has actually seemed to wake him up a bit. He picked up a single and scored a run on a Shohei Ohtani homer on July 20, the day the Dodgers made the switch, doubled the next day and scored a run, and then singled and scored a run again on July 23. However, his overall numbers are still dipping because he's consistently getting five at-bats.

His best month this season is still his worst since June of last year. He hit .258 with a .738 OPS in May, and he hasn't driven in a run since July 9.

Betts still isn't striking out at an alarmingly high rate, but his power has disappeared. He's not making hard contact, and whether that's because of a mental funk or an unfortunate long-lasting effect of the virus he had to start the season is anyone's guess.

Roberts' update is ominous, but hopefully Betts will be able to come out on the other end alright and get back on the field soon.