Mookie Betts sits in Dodgers regular season finale

Mookie Betts sits in the Dodgers’ season finale on Sunday afternoon against the Angels, the day after he was hit by a pitch in his left hip area.

Betts was hit by a 90-mph two-seamer from Julio Teheran to lead off the first inning on Saturday night. Betts was limping in the dugout, but was also in the on-deck circle as the inning ended, as the Dodgers batted around in the frame.

He was removed from the game after the first inning, though manager Dave Roberts said it was only a precaution, with the Dodgers’ playoff seeding long-since secured. Betts has some hip soreness on Sunday.

“He wanted to stay in last night, and he wanted to be in there today,” Roberts said on Sunday. “But it just makes the most sense to give him a day and a half off, and get him ready for Wednesday.”

Betts did not need any additional testing on his hip, Roberts said. Betts will get at-bats Tuesday when the Dodgers hold a workout at Dodger Stadium in advance of the wild card round, which starts on Wednesday.

The first season for Betts in Los Angeles has been outstanding. He enters Sunday hitting .292/.366/.527 with 16 home runs, one off the National League lead, and a team-leading 10 stolen bases while playing stellar defense in right field.

Betts leads the NL in the Baseball-Reference version of WAR (3.4), and ranks third in FanGraphs WAR (2.9).

With Betts out, Kiké Hernández gets the start in right field on Sunday.

Cody Bellinger also gets a day off, but is healthy. Justin Turner (thumb, hamstring) and Max Muncy (wrist) are both healthy and starting. Roberts said each would probably get about three at-bats Sunday before coming out.

A.J. Pollock leads off on Sunday. He batted ninth on Saturday, giving him at least one start at all nine batting order positions in 2020.

Victor Gonzalez gets the start Sunday as the opener, with Dustin May expected to pitch 2-3 innings in relief.

With Sunday’s starting lineup now known, here is the breakdown of starts by the Dodgers this season, which highlights the positional versatility of the roster. Chris Taylor and Muncy each started at least 10 games at three different defensive positions, and Taylor added five starts in center field as well. Hernández started at five different positions, one of five different Dodgers to start a game in the infield and outfield in 2020.

Game info

Time: 12:10 p.m.

TV: SportsNet LA