Mookie Betts missed the Dodgers’ series opener against the Red Sox at Fenway Park as he was home in Nashville attending to a personal matter, manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Boston on Friday.
Roberts first mentioned on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium that Betts would likely miss Friday’s game. On Friday there was a little more clarity, though few details, other than Betts would be available at some point on Saturday. From Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register:
“I think he’ll be back tomorrow right around game time. So we’ll kind of see,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s trying to make sure he gets back as soon as he can. Not sure if he’s going to be in the lineup. But he’ll be in town at some point tomorrow.”
Friday’s series opener did have a New England feel, thanks to a pair of 2021 Dodgers draft picks. Emmet Sheehan, who pitched for Boston College, started and got the win on Friday with five innings and two runs allowed. Ben Casparius, who grew up in Connecticut and went to several Red Sox games, and who played his final year of college at UConn, got his first professional save with a scoreless ninth.
Casparius before Friday last recorded a save on March 26, 2019, getting the final seven outs for North Carolina against Campbell.
Walker Buehler will face his former Dodgers teammates in Sunday’s series finale, but the Red Sox right-hander on Friday got his 2024 championship ring before the game.
Walker’s new ring? Yeesh. pic.twitter.com/DdEfEnKFd7
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 25, 2025
Buehler struggled last regular season after returning from his second Tommy John surgery, then found his stride in the postseason, finishing out his Dodgers tenure with 13 consecutive scoreless innings in October. That included winning Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, then two days later struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to save the championship clincher in Game 5.
On Friday in Boston, Buehler told reporters he’s only watched the highlight of him clinching the final out only a few times. From Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic:
“I don’t think I really got super obsessed with it,” Buehler said. “That moment means a lot to all of us, that we’re a part of it, and the city and the fans that come out every day for us there.”
As for facing his former team, the organization that drafted him in the first round 10 years ago out of Vanderbilt, Buehler offered some perspective on Friday. From Jack Harris at the Los Angeles Times:
“I think you just try to keep it as normal as you can. Obviously it’ll be a little awkward or funny or whatever. But I don’t know. At the end of the day, we’re all playing a sport for a paycheck. The goal is go and to get one over on them. I don’t think the preparation against them is really different.”