Dodgers notes: Mookie Betts’ return to Boston, Justin Turner, Lance Lynn

The Dodgers beat the Red Sox in Mookie Betts’ first game back at Fenway Park. The star outfielder, who made his 40th start of the season at second base and finished up in right field, doubled, walked, and scored twice in the win.

Betts got a long ovation before his first at-bat to lead off the game.

From when the Dodgers were in Cleveland, Betts said of his time in Boston, “Even though it wasn’t that long ago, it feels like it was forever. Now, I’m a completely different person,” per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

That the Dodgers were even able to acquire Betts in February 2020 was “extremely fortunate,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic. “It fit our roster in that moment in time so perfectly,” Friedman added.

Betts’ former Dodgers teammate and current Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen expressed similar sentiment at the surprise of Betts ending up in Los Angeles. From Chad Jennings at The Athletic: “I don’t know what happened here,” Jansen said. “But it’s crazy to me to let a guy like that walk. You don’t give up a guy like that. For us to have him (in L.A.) at that moment, it was unbelievable, and we won a championship.”

Among the things Betts spoke with reporters at Fenway Park about before his first game back was to clarify that he never wanted to leave the Red Sox, writes Peter Abraham at the Boston Globe.

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Friday was also Justin Turner’s first game against the Dodgers since they opted to sign J.D. Martinez instead in December. Turner told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times of his exit, “What’s done is done. There’s nothing that can change that.”

Lance Lynn allowed three early runs but pitched into the seventh inning to earn the win as the Dodgers came back in Friday’s series opener. Lynn is 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA and the Dodgers have won all five of his starts since the trade deadline, leading the team with 31 innings this month. Rowan Kavner at Fox Sports wrote about the right-hander’s turnaround in August:

“I was having success, in a weird way, of striking a lot of people out this year but also giving up a lot of runs,” Lynn said. “So it was a weird year for me. You just try to make sure you take the positives, figure out what doesn’t work for you, and make sure you don’t make those mistakes again.”

Michael Busch had a simple explanation for his power drive with 17 home runs in 43 games in Triple-A before hitting his first major league home run on Thursday in Cleveland, telling Henry Palattella at MLB.com, “Nothing crazy, but I’ve felt pretty good lately. I’ve been slowing things down and trying to swing at good pitches to hit. That’s, ultimately, what it is.”