Mookie, Acuña battle it out in wild opener

LOS ANGELES — It can be exhausting to discover a regular-season matchup that showcased as a lot expertise on the sphere as Dodger Stadium did on Thursday night time.

From right here on out, the Braves and Dodgers, undoubtedly the 2 greatest groups within the National League, will battle it out for the highest seed — with the winner incomes the prospect to host a hypothetical Game 1 and seven of a possible NLCS matchup.

A showdown between the 2 juggernauts additionally allowed followers to look at the highest 4 candidates for NL MVP on the identical area. And whereas Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson are actually within the dialog, it was Mookie Betts and Ronald Acuña Jr. who stole the present within the Dodgers’ 8-7 loss to the Braves within the opener.

With the loss, the Dodgers fell to 5 video games behind the Braves for the highest seed within the National League. The season collection can be now tied at two video games apiece, with three video games remaining.

“You’re watching the game, you’re trying to win the game, but it’s hard not to watch those two guys go head to head,” mentioned Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts. “Fans, media, people want to see the best perform. To see what Ronald did and then to see how Mookie answered, it was good to see him respond like that.”

Acuña received the showdown began within the second inning, smashing a grand slam off Dodgers right-hander Lance Lynn, who had his worst begin since becoming a member of Los Angeles, permitting seven runs over 4 1/3 innings.

A number of innings later, Betts made certain to remind the Braves — and the remainder of the baseball world — that he’s arguably the frontrunner for NL MVP after among the finest months of his profession. With the Dodgers trailing by six runs within the fifth, Betts lower the deficit in half, smacking a three-run homer off NL Cy Young contender Spencer Strider.

The homer was Betts’ 250th profession blast and his fiftieth base hit in August, which matched the L.A. Dodgers’ document for many hits in any month. In his subsequent at-bat, Betts determined to replace each of these numbers.

Betts jumped on the primary pitch he noticed from Joe Jiménez and skied it simply over the wall in left area to document his thirty eighth homer of the season, extending his profession excessive. It was the sixth multi-homer recreation of the yr for Betts, whose 51 hits in August are probably the most by a Dodger in any month because the workforce moved to Los Angeles.

“I’m not playing against Ronald Acuña. I’m playing against the Braves. We’re trying to beat the Braves,” Betts mentioned. “He’s great. Awesome person. Take absolutely nothing away from him. But I’m not playing against him.”

While Betts could also be proper, Acuña may be the participant standing between him and the second MVP trophy of his profession. After protecting himself within the dialog a lot of the season, the Dodgers’ famous person took it to a different stage in August.

Aside from the 51 hits this month, Betts additionally hit .455 with 11 homers and 30 RBIs. He additionally got here round to attain 35 runs. When you take a look at the Dodgers’ 24-5 document in August, it largely began with Betts’ manufacturing. Overall, his 1.033 OPS leads the NL this season.

“I think he wants it bad,” Roberts mentioned of Betts’ need to win the MVP honors. “He’s driven by winning championships, but I do think that having the opportunity to be recognized as the Most Valuable Player in the National League is something that matters. I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with that.”

As Betts crossed residence plate after his second homer of the night time, the loudest MVP chants of the season broke out at Dodger Stadium.

Most folks count on this Braves and Dodgers collection to be a postseason preview, however not often do these types of matchups stay as much as the hype.

Betts and Acuña, although, made certain to exceed it — and might be battling it out in additional methods than one the remainder of the way in which.

“[Betts] and I have a really nice relationship,”  Acuña mentioned. “We talk whenever we get the chance. We talked a little today during the game. We’ll see how the MVP race turns out.”