Sports
Mookie Betts breaks out of slump — and quiets workload 'narrative' — in Dodgers' win
The question was inevitable, even if Dave Roberts found the narrative overly convenient.
After a blistering start to the season offensively, Dodgers star Mookie Betts had cooled in recent weeks. Entering Thursday, Betts was in a one-for-25 slump. He was batting .236 with a mediocre .685 OPS in his last 32 games since April 29. His underrated power had disappeared, too, after hitting only four home runs in his previous 54 games.
So, Roberts was asked Thursday afternoon, was Betts’ workload as an everyday shortstop — the position he switched to this spring for the first time in his MLB career — affecting his production at the plate?
No, the manager claimed, adamantly.
“I think the lazy, easy answer is [that his recent struggles are] because of his workload at shortstop,” Roberts insisted. “I think this is one of those situations where the world would wait for Mookie to start not staying hot, and say that’s why.”
A few hours later, Betts quieted that narrative — for one night, at least.
In an 11-7 win that kept the Dodgers from getting swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Betts led the way offensively by recording two hits, reaching base four times and, most of all, smacking a three-run home run in a six-run fifth inning, helping the Dodgers pull away in what was a back-and-forth battle early on.
“Anything can happen in one game, so we got to put some [more] games together,” Betts said.
As for the idea his shortstop play was a cause of his recent slump?
“This is the best I’ve felt since I was probably 21 or 22 years old,” he said. “So that absolutely has no part. It’s just purely me.”
Thursday was the kind of highlight performance Betts provided often in the season’s opening weeks, when he batted .368 in March and April while playing full time at shortstop for the first time as a professional.
Back then, Betts’ two-way excellence was awe-inspiring. It was a testament to his defensive versatility, after spending most of his MLB career as a Gold Glove right fielder, as well as his ability to handle the increased workload that came with re-learning such a pivotal position.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Roberts said recently of Betts’ switch to shortstop. “I don’t think it’s ever been done at this level, for this level of player.”
Mookie Betts celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Ben Heller during the fifth inning Thursday.
(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
But, as Betts’ numbers tailed off, speculation started to spur. That the demands of playing shortstop were diminishing his offensive productivity. That his countless hours of pregame defensive drills were taking a toll on his body. That his positional change was having the kind of unintended side effects some fans (and Dodgers officials) feared when he first made the switch.
Even a former MVP, the thinking went, could only handle so much for so long.
When asked about that theory Thursday, however, Roberts scoffed.
That “narrative,” Roberts said, overlooked the fact that Betts has long been prone to cold stretches as a hitter. It discounted a simpler explanation that his swing was just a little off, leading to him “missing some pitches” he would usually punish.
“I just want time to pass,” Roberts said, before putting any blame on Betts’ shortstop workload. “I trust his work. I know he’s gonna hit. He’s gotten a lot better at shortstop. And we still got a first-place ballclub. He’s still a pretty good player.”
That much, Betts backed up Thursday.
Betts led the game off with a single, sparking a four-run first inning that was highlighted by Freddie Freeman’s three-run blast, his eighth homer of the year.
The Pirates (29-33) eventually came back, tagging Dodgers starter Walker Buehler with four runs (three earned) in a start marred by bad defense — the Dodgers committed three errors and several other playable miscues Thursday, in what Roberts said was “by far” their worst defensive performance of the year — and a game-tying two-run homer from Nick Gonzales in the bottom of the third.
But then, Betts helped the Dodgers (39-25) surge back in front for good.
Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler delivers during the second inning Thursday against the Pirates.
(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
In a six-run fifth inning that also included a solo home run from Teoscar Hernández (his 13th of the season, fifth-most in the National League), an RBI double from Kiké Hernández and a run-scoring error on a stolen base attempt, Betts provided the exclamation point.
In a 1-and-1 count against Pirates reliever Ben Heller, Betts squared up a sinker over the heart of the zone. The three-run blast traveled 410 feet, clearing the wall in straightaway center. And as Betts rounded the bases, coolly celebrating his 10th homer of the season with a point to the team’s dugout and bullpen, the futility of his recent struggles quickly faded from memory.
“Mookie came to life,” Roberts said. “For him to catch a barrel, go deep to center field, that was a really good sign.”
Of course, as Betts himself noted, it will take more than one big game to negate the shortstop narrative completely.
The 31-year-old is still taking as many daily pregame grounders as any infielder on the team. He is still learning the intricacies of being an everyday shortstop (something that was apparent Thursday on a second-inning throwing error and a couple other misplayed grounders). He is still trying to prove that he can not only handle shortstop on an everyday basis, but sustain elite-level production with the bat in the process.
“I was talking to [teammate Gavin] Lux during the game,” Betts said, “and I was like, ‘This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.’”
But, in the Dodgers’ view, it’s not beyond his capabilities, either. For now, his role as an everyday shortstop remains unchanged.
“I gotta clean up a lot of things,” Betts said, bemoaning his defensive miscues but not his long-term outlook at the position. “Back to the drawing board. Back to working. But, you know, a win is a win.”
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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