PITTSBURGH — Dodgers catcher Will Smith was out of the lineup for a third straight game on Tuesday against the Pirates, the stiffness in his neck still lingering. He’ll probably also be sidelined Wednesday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“Now the [injured list] is more of a possibility,” Roberts said, noting that the minimum for positions players is 10 days. “We’re starting to talk about that.”
Teams can backdate IL moves by up to three days. Smith’s neck issue cropped up Saturday, when he was scratched from the Dodgers’ lineup against the Angels. Though Roberts speculated then that Smith could have slept on it awkwardly, he said the cause of the injury is unclear.
Smith played catch Tuesday, Roberts said, which “went OK,” but Smith’s neck bothers him the most while swinging.
“It’s still a day-to-day situation,” Robers said. “But for me, just talking to him, talking to the trainers, I would like him to go through a full day (of work) before he plays. So that would probably take [Wednesday] off the table. And then we’ll kind of go from there.”
In Smith’s absence, 25-year-old Dalton Rushing has started three straight games behind the plate, including his four-hit performance in the series finale against the Angels, and six of the last nine games.
“This year my whole goal was to make sure, if there’s an opportunity [when] Will needs rest … make sure that I can provide just as much as he does with the bat as well as behind the plate,” Rushing said Saturday. “That’s something I’m obviously continuing to work toward. Whatever he needs, I’ll be here. He knows I’ll catch seven days a week. He knows I’ll catch every game if he can’t go back there.”
If the Dodgers were to put Smith on the IL, it’s unclear who would back up Rushing. After releasing Seby Zavala last week, the Dodgers’ triple-A catchers are Eliezer Alfonzo and Chuckie Robinson, both journeymen with only Robinson having some major-league experience.
Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernández’s said he was hoping for “somewhat good news tomorrow” after leaving Tuesday’s game with an oblique injury.
But on Wednesday, an MRI exam showed a “significant tear” in his left oblique, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Hernández is expected to be out six to eight weeks, but recovery timelines for oblique strains vary, depending on how long it takes the player to become symptom-free.
“You don’t really know what the timeline is, but it’s certainly warranting an IL stint,” Roberts said.
In a corresponding move, infielder Alex Freeland was called up from triple-A Oklahoma City.
After returning from a offseason surgery on his left elbow, the 34-year-old Hernández went four for four, including a home run and two RBIs.
However, Hernández said he tweaked his oblique during batting practice Monday, though he felt fine enough to play. The pain returned after his third-inning home run swing, and he was pulled in the top of the fifth Tuesday.
In his absence, the Dodgers will be splitting time between Freeland and Hyeseong Kim, with Freeland getting the majority of the reps. The Dodgers are also navigating third baseman Max Muncy’s return.
“Right now, he’s earned the opportunity to get some looks consistently, and it’s a credit to him to go back down and play well,” Roberts said of Freeland.
In 33 games with the Dodgers, Freeland collected 23 hits and 2 home runs, walking 11 times.
But his time in the minor leagues was productive, as he hit .265 with four home runs and 16 RBIs in 11 games with the Comets.
“It was great, that’s what we talked about doing is going down there and knocking the door down and taking that frustration out on those pitchers,” Roberts said. “And that’s what he did.”
Share via
Freeland’s next step is to show he can make those improvements against Major League pitching. His first chance will be against the Colorado Rockies’ Tomoyuki Sugano as Freeland was inserted into the starting lineup at second base.
“You know you’re in a big room, and you’re trying to find your way, not make mistakes,” Roberts said of Freeland. “[He has to] give himself some grace and go out there and play hard and be a tough out. Go out there and play defense, and then good things happen.
With Freeland playing, Kim will take a backseat. In the 27-year-old’s 42 games with the Dodgers, Kim hasn’t reached his previous successes from last season. Currently, he is batting .254 with 29 hits and 11 RBIs.
When asked about how the Dodgers plan to balance also getting Kim some at-bats, Roberts replied: “Hyeseong’s gotten a lot of runway, certainly versus right-handed pitching, and I think that right now it’s skewing towards Alex getting more of the opportunities.”
Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernández sat with manager Dave Roberts on the dugout bench for a while after he was lifted from a 15-6 win over the Rockies on Tuesday with what the team later called a left oblique strain.
“He understood how frustrated I was,” Hernández said, “and he was trying to get me to keep my head up.”
The Dodgers plan to put Hernández on the 10-day injured list and recall infielder Alex Freeland, Roberts said after the game. Hernández expects to know more about the severity of the injury Wednesday.
“It’s a bummer,” Roberts said after the game. “He’s missed a lot of time and worked hard to get back, was in great shape, added that spark that we had hoped.”
It was his second game of the season, after starting the year on the injured list after offseason surgery on his left elbow. And he was driving the ball hard.
But he said he initially tweaked his oblique before his season debut, during batting practice Monday.
“I was pretty embarrassed about it,” Hernández said. “I thought it was just weird tightness. Never done an oblique before. So I didn’t really know what I was feeling. Came in today, wasn’t feeling great. I got treatment, but I thought I could play. … Compared to some of the things I’ve played through in the past, it was nothing.
“And, yeah, it was a little more than nothing”
In Hernández’s first at-bat Tuesday, leading off the third inning, he launched a solo home run. That swing, however, “felt awful.”
In between innings, he felt it throwing to first.
In his second at-bat he swung and missed before doubling as part of a four-run rally in the fourth inning. Neither swing felt good. When it also hurt running the bases, he knew it was time to come out of the game.
“Any other year, I would have at least tried to finish the game,” Hernández said. “But … when I was with the Red Sox, going through my core injury, last year with my elbow, I just keep going through things and I make things a lot worse. Today was one of those games that I felt like if I kept going, I was probably going to really, really put myself in danger of missing the rest of the season. So I just told him that I couldn’t go anymore.”
After talking with Roberts, Hernández stood up and disappeared down the tunnel. He was replaced in the lineup by Hyeseong Kim, with Miguel Rojas sliding over from second base to third in the top of the fifth inning.
“Frustrating to say the least,” Hernández said. “Not just because I missed time, but me coming back got somebody off the roster— those types of things. I was only able to give the team four at-bats. Yeah, tough. I feel pretty defeated right now. Hopefully we get somewhat good news tomorrow.”
Hernández had been filling in for Max Muncy at third base, while Muncy recovered from being hit by a pitch on the right wrist on Friday in Milwaukee. But Muncy will be in the lineup Wednesday, Roberts said, after testing his wrist before the game by throwing to bases and hitting on the field. He entered the game Tuesday in the top of the ninth and fielded a groundout.
So, the Dodgers will have options in the infield, even after designating Santiago Espinal for assignment Monday to activate Hernández. Freeland is expected to fill the utility player role. But Hernández made an immediate difference in just two games.
Share via
After Hernández helped jump-start the offense Tuesday, it kept piling on. Mookie Betts had a two-homer game, his first in over a year. Andy Pages’ four-hit game tied a career high. The team combined for 17 hits and 15 runs, both matching season highs.
By the end, both teams had position players pitching. And the Rockies scored all but one of their runs off Rojas.
Ohtani to pitch despite HBP
In the fourth inning, right after Hernández’s double, Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland hit Shohei Ohtani in the right hand with an 85.2-mph changeup.
Ohtani spun and winced but then strode straight to first base. The next inning, Dalton Rushing pinch hit for him.
Shohei Ohtani reacts after getting hit by pitch on his right hand in the fourth inning.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Ohtani still scheduled to start on the mound Wednesday, Roberts said. But his hitting status went from likely to undecided.
“I just want to make sure, how he comes in and physically how he feels,” Roberts said. “Want to make sure he feels really good on the pitching side of things.”
Roberts doesn’t expect Ohtani to need X-rays on his hand, saying the pitch mostly hit the padding on his batting gloves.
