Ump show on full display in Seoul Series with Mookie Betts at center of it all

The Los Angeles Dodgers bats came alive late in their first official game of the regular season to defeat the San Diego Padres.

The first line of every recap from Seoul should read exactly that, as Los Angeles scored four runs in the eighth inning to secure their first win of the season. Teoscar Hernandez, Kiké Hernandez, Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts had RBIs in the decisive inning.

The game within the game, however, was won by the umpires. Lance Barksdale, Carlos Torres, Jansen Visconti and Jeremie Rehak were a storyline because of course they were. None of these men are Cowboy Joe West or even Angel Hernandez, but they inserted themselves into the first game of the MLB season -- an international one at that -- relatively easily.

Mookie Betts given first base after pitch clock violation

In the first at-bat of the game, Mookie Betts drew a walk on a pitch clock violation -- yes, we're still dealing with this. Yu Darvish failed to deliver the ball home on a 3-1 count in the appropriate amount of time, thus giving Betts a free base. Darvish would eventually get out of the inning.

Per MLB, "in an effort to create a quicker pace of play, a 30-second timer between batters will be implemented in 2023. Between pitches, a 15-second timer will be in place with the bases empty and a 20-second timer with runners on base." This rule was implemented before the 2023 season, and batters must be in the box prior to the eight-second mark.

Mookie Betts steal taken away after umpire interference

Mookie was a popular man in South Korea on Wednesday morning, as he was at the center of another umpire-fueled incident. Betts stole second base with Shohei Ohtani at the plate, but was sent back to first base because of umpire interference.

Padres catcher Luis Campusano hit the home-plate umpire Lance Barksdale in the face when trying to throw Betts out.

One could argue that Barksdale should be standing a few extra inches behind Campusano in such a situation, but who am I to say, other than a fan who'd rather watch the product play out on the field than by rules analysts wearing black polos.