PHILADELPHIA -- As the calendar flipped from June to July, a resurgent stretch for Mookie Betts turned into a period of regression. So manager Dave Roberts took action, dropping his shortstop to fifth in the order for Monday night's series opener against the Phillies.
The move may have unlocked something in Betts, who responded with his second multihomer game of 2026 as part of a season-high four-hit showing. It was the lowest Betts hit in the order since 2015 as a member of the Red Sox.
"That was certainly a nice silver lining for tonight," Roberts said. "All of his at-bats were really good. … I just saw that fire tonight. The good conviction in the swings."
Betts' big performance only went so far on a night when Dodgers pitchers struggled to keep the ball in Citizens Bank Park in a series-opening 10-7 loss. Starter Emmet Sheehan was taken deep twice en route to being tagged for six earned runs across 5 1/3 innings, and Alex Vesia and Landon Knack combined to give up three homers in relief.
The Dodgers were in a hole early after the Phillies stacked four runs on Sheehan in the second inning, capped by a two-run blast from Trea Turner. They were able to grind out Philadelphia ace Cristopher Sánchez in the sixth inning, shaving their deficit to one run on a pinch-hit RBI double from Max Muncy and a bases-loaded single from Andy Pages, benefiting from a defensive miscue from Turner on the latter.
It wasn't long before the Phillies put the game back out of the Dodgers' reach. Sheehan came back out for the bottom of the sixth inning and served up a leadoff homer to Brandon Marsh and put a runner on second with one out before being lifted for Vesia, who walked his first batter before surrendering Turner's second homer of the contest. After pulling within a run, L.A. found itself trailing by five.
"I think it's just trying to keep myself from being frustrated and knowing that our offense is so good that we're in, you know, every game," Sheehan said. "So we came back, and then I kind of gave it back to them again after that."
In the top of the seventh, Betts welcomed reliever Jonathan Bowlan to the game with his 12th homer of the season, and his first since June 27. But at that point, the solo shot didn't make much of a difference for the Dodgers. Two innings later, he left the yard again for a two-run blast off Chase Shugart. Betts' 12th and 13th homers of the season turned a blowout loss into a closer game, although L.A. still fell in the opener.
It was Betts' first multihit game since July 2, the end point of a 17-game span in which he slashed .375/.408/.653. Since then, he had just four hits in 11 games entering Monday.
Overall, Betts has a .731 OPS in 64 games this season. That's just lower than his .732 OPS in 2025, which was his lowest mark in any of his first 12 seasons in the big leagues. The Dodgers believe that Betts has more in him, even if he's removed from his MVP-caliber years at the plate.
"I just think that he's better than what he's showing," Roberts said. "Do I have the expectations of when he was considerably younger, playing the outfield? No, I don't. I think that's an unfair expectation. I have a hard time really answering what my expectation is. I just know that he helps us win baseball games.
"He's playing a premium position. I feel like hitting him fifth vs. second, third or fourth, I still think takes a little bit of offensive strain, given the position he's playing."
The prolonged slump that Betts endured for the first two-thirds of last season was an anomaly in his decorated career. He eventually turned things around in the final two months of the campaign, but 2025 still went down as his worst offensive season.
With almost the entire second half remaining, Betts wants to ensure that it remains that way. He believes that he can find something to turn his season around and get back to hitting to his capabilities.
"I've been here before, so it's not necessarily uncharted territory. But I'd like to not continue to be here," Betts said. "It's been a couple years now, and I don't believe this is who I am. I feel like tonight lets me know I still can do something."