catcher

Even Dodgers catcher Will Smith, who’d never be accused of wearing his emotions on his sleeve, was a little worried during his monthslong absence because of a persistent neck injury that he might not be healthy by the end of the season.

“‘It was kind of the ‘who knows how long it’s going to take,’” Smith said when the Dodgers activated him at the beginning of the month. “But at some point I was going to be fed up and just kind of deal with it.”

It apparently didn’t come to that. And in the Dodgers’ 3-2 win against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, Smith’s fifth time in the lineup since returning from the injured list, he put the Dodgers ahead with a first-inning home run and guided Dodgers left-handed starter Tarik Skubal through 7 ⅓ innings of two-run ball.

“He called a great game,” Skubal said of his Team USA teammate. “And the targets that he sets up, and the way that he goes about it, he gives me a ton of confidence back there.”

A neck problem that was initially expected to resolve on its own in a few days turned into a nearly three-month IL stint. With the revolving door behind the plate in Smith’s absence, getting him back down the stretch and into the postseason was going to be key.

While Smith was on the IL, backup catcher Dalton Rushing was thrown into the starting role, learning how to balance the defensive responsibility of serving as the main backstop at the major-league level with a desire to also contribute offensively.

Rushing seemed to be getting the hang of it, with Chuckie Robinson and then Eliézer Alfonzo behind him, before he hurt his right elbow right before the trade deadline. The Dodgers traded for an entirely new catching duo, Hunter Feduccia and Ben Rortvedt, who held down the position until Smith’s return.

“It was frustrating early,” Smith said. “Just looking for answers why it was taking longer, but we finally got those answers. And then it was kind of a pretty straightforward process from there. So last month or two hasn’t been too bad.”

Smith and the Dodgers sought multiple doctors’ opinions. He was eventually diagnosed with an annular tear and given two possible recovery timelines. Though they proceeded with hope for the earlier return, the longer one came to fruition.

Now, the Dodgers are carrying three catchers, trying not to overwork Smith in his first weeks back. He’ll be out of the lineup Wednesday and play two of three games in Miami, manager Dave Roberts said.

With Rushing back on the IL for the same elbow injury, Feduccia can also serve as a left-handed bat off the bench, and Alfonzo gives the team more substitution flexibility.

Entering Tuesday, Smith had already thrown out three baserunners attempting to steal in his first week back in action. But despite some hard contact, hits weren’t falling for him. He went two for 17 with a single and a double in the same time period.

“Will is just very consistent, dependable,” Roberts said. “I know he’s taking really good at-bats. Hitting some balls to the warning track.”

On Tuesday, batting third in the lineup against Reds left-handed starting pitcher Nick Lodolo, he showcased the kind of influence he can make on both sides of the ball.

In Smith’s first at-bat, he battled for nine pitches, finally lifting a changeup over the left field wall.

“That was really good to see,” Roberts said. “With Will, it’s just great having him in there because you know you can count on the at-bat quality, and obviously having him behind the plate has been good.”

The next inning the Dodgers (88-57) doubled their score when Tommy Edman — hitting in the leadoff spot in place of Shohei Ohtani (right biceps and left knee), who was out of the lineup Tuesday as the Dodgers ease him back from a four-day absence over the weekend — was hit in the leg by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Reds then tied the score in the third, as Elly De La Cruz launched a two-run homer off Skubal. But the Dodgers pulled ahead again two innings later, courtesy of the red-hot bat Teoscar Hernández has been swinging in September.

Tarik Skubal pitches in the second inning Tuesday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Hernández avenged his ill-fated inside-the-park home run attempt — he was thrown out at the plate on an aggressive send two innings earlier — with a well-struck RBI single.

Skubal wrapped up his deepest start of his Dodgers tenure to a standing ovation. He’d limited the Reds to just four hits, while recording five strikeouts in an efficient performance.

Flame-throwing reliever Edgardo Henriquez replaced Skubal, tasked with recording the last two outs of the eighth. He did so with the help of an ABS challenge from Smith that secured an inning-ending strikeout.

Lefty Tanner Scott earned the save, retiring three straight batters after a leadoff walk, and the Dodgers extended their winning streak to six games.

“It’s the last stretch,” Smith said at the beginning of the month. “We’re fighting for seeding as well. So yeah, it’s definitely time to step on the gas.”

Almost every day, quarterback and left-handed ace pitcher Joe Bell looks out on the La Cañada High football field and sees faces so familiar he might as well be taken back in time to the days of playing in the sandbox, in the street, in the backyard or at the local park.

It’s so fun as a high school senior to know the person at your side has been your friend and teammate for years. It’s the magic of going to your neighborhood school and being a multi-sport athlete.

There’s his younger brother, Jake, a sophomore middle linebacker and his catcher since birth. There’s Brandon Mohaghegh, a receiver and outfielder; Chase Regan, a running back and second baseman; Ross Piken, a receiver and pitcher; Ethan Wong, a right offensive tackle and designated hitter; and Caythan Kim, a left offensive tackle and.outfielder.

They know each other from Little League days and earlier.

Yes, the group likes to go take batting practice together before football practice, and everyone agrees it’s the coolest thing.

“It’s crazy,” said Bell, who’s 21 of 29 passing for the 2-0 Spartans and was the Rio Hondo League baseball player of the year with an 11-2 record and 1.71 ERA last season. “It’s impressive. We go to the locker room, change our stuff and leave our gear. Playing multiple sports is the best thing you can do as a kid. It’s completely doable to do both. And if you don’t you’re missing out.”

Said football coach David Avramovich: “It’s very common for them playing long toss or being in the cage once or twice a week. They’re walking by with their bats.”

Thanks to Avramovich and baseball coach Nathan Bernstein each being multiple-sports advocates, everyone is on the same page supporting each other. Avramovich sits in the parent section for baseball games; Bernstein stands on the sideline during football games.

“It’s really good for them to take a break,” Avramovich said of his football and baseball players.

The Bells are a family of three siblings with great grades and great parents. Jake has a twin sophomore sister who plays volleyball and softball.

“I need 30 Bells,” Avramovich said. “They’re all awesome.”

Quarterback Joe Bell of La Canada runs for yardage. He’s also a standout left-handed pitcher in baseball.

(Lisa Mattmann)

Joe Bell, with a 4.1 grade-point average, is living the life of someone ready to be a Division I college athlete but comfortable and thriving in his neighborhood setting while going from one sport to the next.

“I’ve always played as many sports as I can,” he said. “I played soccer, pick-up basketball, baseball. I actually credit my success in sports keeping it fun. I go to the park to throw a football with my friends, then go play hoops in some backyard.”

Bell is 6 feet 1, 185 pounds and loves being left-handed.

“It’s pretty nice,” he said. “It’s like being an anomaly. I would go to these football and baseball camps, ‘Is anyone a lefty?’ It was great being in that special group.”

For the first time, his brother, Jake, will be his catcher on varsity.

“Jake’s a Dawg,” Joe said. “It’s like playing catch in the backyard mound we built. I’ve been playing with him since the beginning. I’d say, ‘Jake, do you want to catch a bullpen?’’’

If Jake says no, it will be the first time.

If anyone is not inspired by the Bells and their friends, then you need to think back to the way high school sports used to be with the focus on having fun and winning with your neighborhood friends.

At La Cañada with this group, it’s Back to the Future and a return to the 1980s.