Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, right, gestures after being called out by home plate umpire John Tumpane while trying to score on a single by Will Smith before the call was overturned during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers’ Will Smith has seeds thrown at him after hitting a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers’ Tommy Edman, left, is tagged out by San Francisco Giants catcher Andrew Knizner as he tries to score on a single by Miguel Rojas during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers’ Kyle Tucker, right, scores on a single by Tommy Edman after San Francisco Giants catcher Andrew Knizner missed the ball during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers’ Kyle Tucker, left, scores on a single by Tommy Edman after San Francisco Giants catcher Andrew Knizner missed the ball during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers’ Josue De Paula is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring on a single by Mookie Betts during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers’ Mookie Betts is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring on a double by Kyle Tucker during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker, left, makes a catch on a ball hit by San Francisco Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee as center fielder Tommy Edman watches during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers pitcher Edwin Díaz celebrates after the Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants in a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers pitcher Edwin Díaz throws to the plate during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia celebrates as a ball hit by San Francisco Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee is caught to end the top of the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Members of the Dodgers celebrate after they defeated the San Francisco Giants in a baseball game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, center, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, right, congratulate Mookie Betts after the Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants in a baseball game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts is showing that the view from the top offers a wide range of possibilities.
Read more Man O Rose wins again at Los Al, ends rider’s drought
Hitting in Shohei Ohtani’s leadoff spot for the second consecutive game, Betts’ four-hit performance Saturday topped his three-hit output from Friday and started some serious downhill momentum toward a 10-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
The victory kept the Dodgers two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the National League with seven games remaining. That includes four games against the Giants, who continue to limp toward the finish line of a miserable, injury-riddled season.
Betts couldn’t be feeling better, with his past two games part of a run of 10 hits over the last three games he has played. After more than two months of looking for an offensive leader, Betts has charged into the role, while reaching base five times Saturday.
The Dodgers also have been transformed by the emergence of Will Smith, who returned at the start of September after three months away because of neck inflammation. He had a home run among his three hits to give him homers in consecutive games, with three over his past eight contests.
There is also 21-year-old rookie Josue De Paula, who has continued to operate with ease since arriving in the major leagues last week. De Paula had a two-run single Saturday and walked twice while scoring two runs.
All of it overshadowed Tarik Skubal’s ninth start for the Dodgers. The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner was far from his best, allowing four runs on eight hits over five innings. His three strikeouts were his fewest in an outing with his new club.
Read more UFC 331: Sean Sharaf shocks the world with 12-second KO
And yet the offense allowed Skubal (11-7) to pick up the win, while improving to 4-2 with a 2.95 ERA for the Dodgers.
The offense was not only productive, it was steady. The Dodgers scored runs in each of the first six innings and when they were held scoreless in the seventh, Betts still reached base with a walk.
Betts opened the game for the Dodgers with a leadoff double and scored on a Max Muncy double. Betts brought home his own run with an RBI single in the second.
The Dodgers received Smith’s home run in the third and got an RBI double from Betts in the fourth but were still tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth. They blew the game open from there, getting a go-ahead two-run single from Tommy Edman and an RBI pinch-hit single from Miguel Rojas for a 7-4 lead.
They scored three more times in the sixth, getting a Smith RBI single followed by a two-run single from De Paula.
The Dodgers now have a 5-4 lead in the Giants in the season series and are in line for a sweep Sunday, which would be their first against their longtime rival since April of 2024.
Read more Denis Bouanga sets LAFC scoring record in draw with Earthquakes
More to come on this story.