Mookie Betts wasn’t getting fooled again.
In a play that was almost a carbon copy of the one that sparked the Game 2 dramatics between the Dodgers and Padres, Betts hit a deep fly ball just over the left field wall in his first at-bat Tuesday night.
But there was one significant difference. Jurickson Profar didn’t make the catch this time.
With one out in the top of the ninth of Tuesday’s NLDS Game 3, Betts launched the fly ball off Padres starter Michael King. Profar gave chase in left field and had a play at the ball over the short wall near the foul pole at Petco Park.
But he didn’t come up with it. The ball bounced off his glove and into the stands for a solo home run.
From his vantage point on the base paths, Betts wasn’t so sure. And he’d been burned by Profar before. He apparently thought that Profar caught the ball and took a detour from the path between first and second base across the diamond toward the Dodgers dugout.
Only when umpires confirmed a home run and third-base coach Dino Ebel signaled for Betts to keep rounding the bases did Betts resume his trot. Here’s another angle that shows Betts making it almost to the pitcher’s mound before turning around to finish his home run trot.
And yes, that’s a legal trot. Since no defender was making a play on Betts, he wasn’t required to remain on the basepaths for his home run to be legal.
For comparison, here’s Betts’ near-home run from Sunday night at Dodger Stadium.
Like his home run on Tuesday, his fly ball Sunday night traveled over a a short wall near the left-field foul pole. Also like Tuesday, Profar reached over the wall to make a play.
But on Sunday, Profar made the catch. He took a moment to revel in the catch and taunt the Dodgers fans in the stands before revealing that he’d secured the out and robbed Betts of a home run. Betts was in mid-celebration before Profar’s big reveal.
Hence, Betts’ hesitation and subdued celebration on Tuesday.
The hit was a big one in more than one way for Betts. It also broke an 0-for-22 playoff streak for the former MVP, who was 0 for 6 this postseason before Tuesday’s home run.