The Los Angeles Dodgers lost their second straight in Pittsburgh, but luckily they didn’t also lose catcher Will Smith.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts detailed that Smith only bruised his throwing hand after taking a foul ball off it in the second inning of LA’s 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.
Smith left the game to undergo X-rays, which were negative. But Smith was not in Los Angeles’ lineup for its series finale against Paul Skenes and the Pirates on Thursday.
Smith’s .296 batting average is second on the Dodgers, behind first baseman Freddie Freeman, and he ranks fourth in the National League in batting. But Smith also leads the NL in on-base percentage (.405) and sixth in the NL in OPS (.902) — he only trails Shohei Ohtani among Dodgers players.
What Did Dave Roberts Say About Will Smith’s Injury?
Smith, like fellow currently injured Dodgers infielder Max Muncy, is less of a household name than former MVPs Ohtani, Freeman and Mookie Betts. But Roberts also knows how important Smith is on both offense and defense.
“We canât afford to lose him,” Roberts said. “I guess weâll know more in the coming days.
“It was concerning. Iâm happy heâs OK.”
Yet, Smith’s injury was just the latest in a string of worrisome ailments plaguing the Dodgers as the games become their most important. A day after Muncy’s rehab assignment was pushed back due to illness, the Dodgers scratched Ohtani from his scheduled start Wednesday due to a chest cold, as well.
Smith and backup Dalton Rushing, who replaced Smith on Wednesday and started Thursday in the series finale in Pittsburgh, are the lone catchers on LA’s 40-man roster.
Rushing is also, of course, just a foul ball or errant pitch away from being sidelined too and leaving the Dodgers in a potential crisis.
What Did Dave Roberts Say About The Dodgers’ Struggles?
The Dodgers have long operated cautiously with injuries, focusing on the playoffs rather than the marathon of the regular season, but with just 22 games left after Thursday, Roberts knows the time to start ramping is now.
Plus, there’s an air of urgency permeating through the Dodgers clubhouse, particularly since they can’t seem to shake this second-half malaise. LA is 22-29 since July 4 and entered play Thursday two games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the No. 2 seed in the NL — which would give it a bye to the NLDS.
The Dodgers entered play Thursday with four losses in their previous five games — to also-rans, Pittsburgh and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yet, they still sit 2.5 games up on the San Diego Padres for the National League West lead.
But even though they are still a lock to make the playoffs — and the favorite to win the World Series — Roberts would like to see signs of them breaking their second-half slump.
“I do believe that the guys that we have in the room are capable of putting together consistent team at-bats of urgency from the first pitch on,” Roberts said. “But at the end of the day, I’m sure our players are echoing the same message that we just got to get it done. I can talk about it as much as I want, but we got to get it done.”
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