No longer sick, Dodgers' Mookie Betts hits a pair of '160-pound homers' as he works to gain weight

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mookie Betts is no longer ailing, finally able to keep food down and eating up a storm to pack on the weight he dropped while battling a stomach virus during the first two weeks of the season.

And, as the eight-time All-Star reminded everyone, “I'm still good at baseball.”

He surely is.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star hit two home runs, including a three-run blast in the 10th inning that gave the defending World Series champions a come-from-behind 8-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.

“That was not on my bingo card,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He just does some special things.”

The Dodgers are off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 1981, a year they won the World Series.

Betts had his third career walk-off homer. In the eighth, his first homer of the season put the Dodgers in front for the first time.

“Right now I’m just having fun hitting 160-pound homers,” he said, smiling.

Betts went 3 for 5 with three runs and four RBIs on a night when the Dodgers received their glittering World Series rings.

“We were joking around that that first home run he hit was probably his best hope that he’s got right now with all the strength that he’s got,” third baseman Max Muncy said, “but he one-upped it so we were all wrong on that one.”

Betts traveled with the team to Japan for their season-opening two-game series with the Chicago Cubs. But he returned early, flying back before ever suiting up because of the virus that caused him to lose about 15 pounds.

“I’m at 165 now, so another seven or eight pounds will help me a lot but 10 would be ideal,” he said.

How does he plan to gain?

“Keep eating. Just eating all day,” he said. “My chef and wife, both of them are doing enough cooking. I'm eating during the game.”

Betts couldn't keep any food down when he was feeling his worst and initially not knowing what was wrong added to his stress.

So when his game-winning shot off Beau Brieske sailed into the left-field pavilion, Betts pounded his fist as he rounded the bases, his head full of thoughts and his teammates waiting for him at the plate.

“Just the fight that I’ve kind of been through, the ups and downs, the nights where I’m just crying because I’m sick,” he said. “My wife there and just kind of holding me. That’s really where that emotion kind of comes from.”

Betts raised his right arm in the air, tossed his helmet toward the dugout and hopped a few times as he approached the plate. His teammates celebrated by dousing him in water.

“I can't say enough about Mookie,” Roberts said. “He won a ballgame for us.”

Betts came to the plate in the 10th after back-to-back singles by Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani, who took second on defensive indifference.

“The pressure was kind of off,” Betts said. “We were going to get another at-bat with Freddie (Freeman) there and we all know what Freddie does in those type of situations. It was just kind of relax, if you do, cool, if you don’t that’s OK.”

And Betts did.

“I know it sounds super-selfish," he said, “but I was really proud of myself.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts rounds seance after hitting a solo home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

CORRECTS TO DELETE AN EXTRANEOUS PHRASE OF OPENING-DAY - Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts celebrates as he runs to first after hitting a walk-off three-run home run during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, center, celebrates with Shohei Ohtani, left, and catcher Will Smith as he scores after hitting a walk-off three-run home run during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts celebrates as he runs to first after hitting a walk-off three-run home run during the 10th inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts celebrates as he runs to first after hitting a walk-off three-run home run during the 10th inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts hits a walk-off three-run home run as Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler watches during the 10th inning of a baseball game Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office to review and get rid of ones that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, U.S officials said Tuesday.

Academy officials were told to review the library late last week, and an initial search had identified about 900 books for a closer look. They decided on nearly 400 to remove and began doing so Monday, finishing before Hegseth arrived for a visit Tuesday that had already been planned and was not connected to the library purge, officials said. A list of the books has not yet been made available.

Pulling the books off the shelves is another step in the Trump administration’s far-reaching effort to eliminate so-called DEI content from federal agencies, including policies, programs, online and social media postings and curriculum at schools.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said late Tuesday, “All service academies are fully committed to executing and implementing President Trump’s Executive Orders.”

The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, had not been included in President Donald Trump's executive order in January that banned DEI instruction, programs or curriculum in kindergarten through 12th grade schools that receive federal funding. That is because the academies are colleges.

Pentagon leaders, however, suddenly turned their attention to the Naval Academy last week when a media report noted that the school had not removed books that promoted DEI. A U.S. official said the academy was told late last week to conduct the review and removal. It isn't clear if the order was directed by Hegseth or someone else on his staff.

A West Point official confirmed that the school had completed a review of its curriculum and was prepared to review library content if directed by the Army. The Air Force and Naval academies had also done curriculum reviews as had been required.

An Air Force Academy official said the school continually reviews its curriculum, coursework and other materials to ensure it all complies with executive orders and Defense Department policies. Last week, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, the Air Force Academy superintendent, told Congress that the school was in the middle of its course review, but there was no mention of books.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss academy policies.

Hegseth has aggressively pushed the department to erase DEI programs and online content, but the campaign has been met with questions from angry lawmakers, local leaders and citizens over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from Defense Department websites and social media pages.

In response, the department has scrambled to restore some of those posts as their removals have come to light.

The confusion about how to interpret the DEI policy was underscored Monday as Naval Academy personnel mistakenly removed some photos of distinguished female Jewish graduates from a display case as they prepared for Hegseth's visit. The photos were put back.

In a statement, the Navy said it is aware that photos were mistakenly removed from the Naval Academy Jewish Center. It said U.S. Naval Academy leadership was immediately taking steps to review and correct the unauthorized removal.

Hegseth spoke with students and had lunch at the academy Tuesday, but media were not invited or allowed to cover the visit.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a joint news conference with Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Kiyoshi Ota/Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - An entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy campus in Annapolis, Md., is seen Jan. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)