Dodgers’ Mookie Betts shows Chris Sale ultimate respect after beating him in Game 3

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Down 1-0 in the National League Division Series, the Atlanta Braves gambled and went with a bullpen day for Game 2. Their gumption paid off and allowed ace Chris Sale to start Game 3 on four days of rest. The Los Angeles Dodgers figured out how to wear down the star southpaw all the same, driving up his pitch count before breaking through in the fourth inning. Mookie Betts was a key part of that successful approach, which helped LA secure a pivotal 3-1 victory in Truist Park.

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Betts won a championship with Sale on the Boston Red Sox back in 2018, so he understands how hard it can be to rattle his fellow future Hall of Famer.

“Really just tried to have some good at-bats,” Betts said after notching two of the Dodgers’ seven hits against Sale on Tuesday night. “He’s really good at putting guys away, but we were able to foul some pitches off, get a couple to fall, Kike with a big homer right there, Freddie as well… Scoring 3 on Chris Sale, that’s like scoring 10.”

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Betts recorded an infield single after working a full count to lead off Game 3 and posted another knock in the third. Although he did not score, his peskiness brought the 2024 NL Cy Young Award winner one step closer to combustion. October meteorite Kike Hernandez exploded in the fourth, courtesy of a 406-foot two-run homer, and 2024 World Series MVP Freddie Freeman delivered a big blast of his own minutes later.

That is all LA needed, as Yoshinobu Yamamoto composed another playoff masterpiece. The Dodgers’ offensive struggles have drawn ample attention, but in an uninviting environment, and against one of the best pitchers of his generation, the two-time defending champions seized the moment. And control of the series.

Mookie Betts is one of several Dodgers players to scuffle for large stretches of the year, but following a stellar September, he is ready to help his squad chase a three-peat. The 2018 MVP and seven-time Silver Slugger will try to keep the same persistence when he faces Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle in Game 4 on Wednesday.

Related: Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas updates fans on lower back injury, hopes to be available in NLDS Game 4

Related: This Freddie Freeman playoff stat will frighten all left-handed pitchers

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