Mookie Betts makes Dave Roberts look smart with perfectly timed Dodgers breakout

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made some last-minute lineup changes ahead of their win-or-go-home Game 6 against the Toronto Blue Jays – and by the third inning, they had already paid off.

In addition to starting Miguel Rojas at second base and moving Tommy Edman to center field, Roberts also moved shortstop Mookie Betts into the cleanup spot in the batting order. The move was confounding to say the least, considering Betts was hitting just .130 through the first five games of the World Series.

After Betts went 0-for-4 with a pair strikeouts in Game 5 of the World Series, Roberts noted that he observed "a little anxiousness" in his swing. So, he moved him into the role typically held by a fearsome slugger who punishes mistakes... naturally.

Betts' struggles come while the Dodgers collectively have not been hitting all that well in this series, having scored 18 runs across these first five games and just three total over Games 4 and 5 (both losses). Another lackluster offensive performance in Game 6 could be enough to send them home, so Roberts couldn't afford to press the wrong buttons.

Fast forward to the third inning of Game 6. The Dodgers had taken a 1-0 lead on an RBI double by Will Smith. Then, with two outs and the bases loaded, Betts finally came in clutch with an two-run single to left field that scored Smith and Shohei Ohtani to widen the Dodgers' lead to 3-0.

Dave Roberts' unconventional Dodgers lineup decision pays off for Mookie Betts

George Springer hit an RBI single in the bottom of the frame to cut into the Dodgers' lead, but Los Angeles' three-run third inning had set the tone and given them enough of a cushion – with Betts largely to thank for it.

Following a rough first half to the 2025 campaign, Betts rebounded in the final two months of the season and ended up with a 104 OPS+. Roberts trusted in his ability to catch fire again in the Fall Classic, and moving him from second to fourth in the lineup proved to be just the jolt that he needed.