Mookie Betts and the Dodgers were in danger of falling short again in the postseason, but the former Boston Red Sox star got the motivation he needed to step up when it mattered most.

Los Angeles closed out the National League Division Series when it eliminated the San Diego Padres in Game 5. Dave Roberts’ team advanced to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2021 and will face the red-hot New York Mets.

Betts finally broke an 0-for-22 slump when he went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs in Game 3 of the NLDS on Tuesday. He then went 2-for-5 on Wednesday with a home run in Game 4. And despite his 0-for-3 performance Friday, he will look to use his momentum in his pursuit of a third World Series ring.

The 2018 American League MVP’s slump came after David Ortiz gave the former Red Sox star a motivational speech, further adding to the duo’s special relationship.

“It was much more special than anyone could imagine. He comes up and makes his debut and has him next to me, he doesn’t realize it because he’s playing, but I look at him and he’s an icon to me,” Betts said on the FOX postgame show. “The relationship we built over time usually disappears, especially when he’s retired and I’m still playing. But actually, I would say, it’s gotten closer as the company has grown. I speak to him about every two weeks. He’s checking in. I’m checking in. And that he would call me, especially at a time like this – a bad time, I was really down – and he would call me and just give me words of encouragement and tell me everything was going to be okay. be cool. Just smile. Smile and it worked.”

Ortiz told Betts he loved him before showing him a T-shirt of himself that said “My dawg.” Fellow former Red Sox Kiké Hernández also went viral after Game 5, albeit for different reasons. They will get a day of rest before Game 1 of the NLCS starts on Sunday.