All of a sudden, Mookie Betts is back to looking like a real threat in the heart of the Dodgers' order. The star shortstop continued his recent surge by driving in a pair of runs in a three-run fifth inning that keyed a 4-2 Dodgers win \-\- and sealed a series victory -- over the Padres on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park. Betts has hit safely in a season-high five straight games after his 2-for-4 showing. Betts would like to sustain his recent success a little while longer before declaring that he's back to normal. But he enjoys being able to contribute the way he has throughout his career, and he feels like he's in a good spot. "It feels normal. Like I can go be a ballplayer again, my abilities show, I can change my approach during at-bats," Betts said. "I’m not so upset about outs because I feel like I'm going about it the right way." Betts came through once the Dodgers had taken a 2-1 lead on a nine-pitch bases-loaded walk from Freddie Freeman in the fifth inning. Betts got ahead 2-1 against Padres starter Michael King before getting a sinker over the heart of the plate, which he knocked into left-center to drive in a pair of runs that ended up being the game-winners. To cap the series finale in San Diego, Betts left his mark on the contest by turning the game-ending double play, hustling to step on the second-base bag for one out before throwing to first for the other. It was reminiscent of the play Betts turned to end last year's World Series in Game 7. "We've seen that before," Freeman said. "But yeah, he's been playing great defense since he took over shortstop. Starting to hit now. So things are looking good for us.”
