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Mookie Betts was held hitless in the Dodgers loss to the Pirates on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, a rarity for the outfielder during one the finest months in franchise history.
Before the month ended, Betts scored his 50th run of the season, on Monday, the fastest to reach that total in MLB in 14 seasons. In May alone, Betts scored 31 times, the first Dodger with 30 or more runs scored in a calendar month since Duke Snider in July 1954.
Only eight Dodgers have scored more runs than Betts in a calendar month, with Jim Gilliam and his 32 runs the last in August 1953.
Betts during May tied a Los Angeles Dodgers record by scoring at least once in 12 straight games, and he set an overall franchise record with at least one run in 15 straight starts.
Those 31 runs scored led the majors during May, when Betts hit .342/.411/.746. He led the majors in FanGraphs WAR and home runs (12), the latter tied with Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. Betts was second in slugging percentage and OPS to Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
Betts’ 12 home runs matched Roy Campanella’s 1953 for the most home runs by a Dodger in May. For any month, only four Dodgers have hit more — Duke Snider (August 1953) and Pedro Guerrero (June 1985) fifteen each, plus Adrián Beltré (August 2004) and Cody Bellinger (June 2017) thirteen apiece.
Most extra-base hits in a month, Dodgers
| Player | Month | 2B | 3B | HR | XBH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Month | 2B | 3B | HR | XBH |
| Babe Herman | Jul 1930 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 23 |
| Duke Snider | Jun 1954 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 23 |
| Cody Bellinger | Jun 2017 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| Duke Snider | Aug 1953 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 22 |
| Mookie Betts | May 2022 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 22 |
Betts started the month with a .731 OPS, and he ended May at .988 on the season.
In addition to the home runs, Betts also doubled 10 times in May, the first Dodger ever with double digits in both home runs and doubles in the same month. His 22 extra-base hits are one shy of Babe Herman (July 1930) and Snider (June 1954), who had the most in a calendar month in Dodgers history.
Betts’ 85 total bases are the most by a Dodger in a calendar month since Beltré (87) in August 2004. You’d have to go back to Snider’s June 1954 to find the last Dodger with this many total bases before that.
For Betts, May marked person highs for a month in home runs, extra-base hits, and runs batted in, the latter tied with his August 2016. Betts’ high for hits in a month is 45, set in August 2016. He had 12 doubles in September 2015, and scored 33 runs in July 2019.
The last time a Dodger had more than Betts’ 39 hits in one month was May 2014, when Yasiel Puig had 43 hits.
The 27 runs batted in by Betts were the most by a Dodger since Cody Bellinger drove home 29 runs in April 2019.
Betts in May set or tied Los Angeles Dodgers records for:
- Runs scored (31)
- Extra-base hits (22)
- Home runs in May (12)
- Consecutive games scoring a run (12)
- First with double digits in both home runs and doubles in a month
Not too shabby.
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