LOS ANGELES -- The way Mookie Betts has been swinging the bat lately is reminiscent of his best days as a Dodger.
Betts drove in two runs and scored another pair in a four-hit showing as Los Angeles surged past San Francisco, 10-4, on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, setting up an opportunity to sweep the weekend series.
In all-time head-to-head competition, the Dodgers hold a one-game edge -- 1,293-1,292 (and 17 ties) -- against their longtime rivals.
In addition to Betts, Will Smith, Josue De Paula and Tommy Edman drove in two runs apiece. It was the fifth time this season -- and the second time this month -- that four or more Dodgers collected multiple RBIs in a game.
"Some guys are hitting, some guys are not," Betts said. "I think that’s the beauty of the lineup. You get a couple guys going, and a couple guys here can carry a team, and you never know. You just never know who's going to be, it's different guys every day."
Days earlier, before the Dodgers clinched their 13th NL West title in the past 14 seasons, manager Dave Roberts assessed where his team stood with the postseason fast approaching. He praised his pitching staff's performance and noted the improvements on defense and baserunning. But he also pointed out an area of growth: the offense, which has been inconsistent for much of the season.
"I think for me, it’s being able to put teams away when we have opportunities," Roberts said, echoing similar sentiments he had shared over the past three months.
The Dodgers took advantage of those opportunities on Saturday, and their third straight win maintained their four-game lead over the Braves for the No. 2 seed in the National League.
On a night when Tarik Skubal grinded through his five innings and allowed four runs, his most since June 24, his offense was there to pick him up. It all started with Betts in the leadoff spot, which has been somewhat of a revolving door with Shohei Ohtani on the IL.
Betts reached base in all five plate appearances for the first time since April 16, 2024. He hit three doubles, marking the first time he recorded three extra-base hits in a game since July 7, 2023. And he has knocked at least three hits in three consecutive games, matching the longest such streak of his career (also July 11-17, 2021).
It hasn't just been three good days for Betts. In September, he's slashing .397/.493/.794 with a team-leading 20 RBIs. Going back even farther, he has a 1.008 OPS over his past 39 games.
Recently, Betts has hit like the version of himself that he came into this season hoping to be. It took him longer than he had hoped to find this form, but now that he has, he is focused on carrying it into the postseason.
"I know I'm still capable of it, I know it was in there somewhere," Betts said. "So just got to keep on rolling. Keep on … laying the foundation and letting the game be the game."
Whether it's results feeding confidence or the other way around, this version of Betts has put together one of his best sustained stretches at the plate in some time.
"I think he's got to do it to believe it -- as opposed to just stay confident and it'll happen. He's got to see results first. He's kind of like that," Roberts said. "A month ago, he started getting some knocks and some slug, and so he's really built on that. And so now, it just doesn't matter where you hit him, who he's facing, the situation -- he's taking good at-bats."
The Dodgers have gotten quality at-bats up and down their lineup lately, which has led to more consistency from the offense -- albeit without facing a legitimate contender up to this point in September. But in that span, they've seen some key bats, such as Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker, heat up.
The back-to-back champion Dodgers were built with ambitions of continuing their reign in October, and they might just be getting hot at the right time. The offense is starting to perform more in line with expectations -- but then again, those expectations don't end at scoring runs in the regular season.
"I think our potential's winning the World Series," Tucker said. "So until we do that, then I can say we reached it."