PHILADELPHIA — For most of the postseason, Will Smith’s name has come up in the context of whether he has been healthy enough to contribute to this year’s run. With the bases loaded in the seventh, the Dodgers’ veteran catcher flipped that narrative with one swing of his bat.
Smith reached across the plate on a sweeper from Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering, lining it into left field for a single as two crucial runs crossed home plate to give the Dodgers a three-run lead in their eventual 4-3 win in Game 2 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park, pushing Philadelphia to the brink of elimination.
“That hit felt great,” Smith said. “Bases loaded, two outs. Yeah, that felt good.”
The rally started with a leadoff single from Teoscar Hernández and a double by Freddie Freeman. With one out, Kiké Hernández broke his bat on a sinker up and in and the ball dribbled slowly past the mound, giving Teoscar Hernández just enough time to make a break from third and beat the throw at the plate by milliseconds to score the first run of the game.
“It’s great. He’s our All-Star catcher,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And you’re just trying to play the middle of getting him back, working him back into game shape. And it’s just a little bit tougher to do in the postseason.”
If Smith had fractured his hand in July instead of September, he’d have likely gone through a rehab assignment, taking the time to build back up and get his legs under him before rejoining Los Angeles. But time is a luxury that the Dodgers simply can’t afford in October, not as they look to defend their World Series title.
Instead, Smith pinch-hit for Ben Rortvedt — who has excelled in his role filling in behind the plate — in the top of the fifth of Game 1 on Saturday. Smith caught the final five frames and got on base via a hit-by-pitch between two strikeouts. It was his first game action in almost a month.
Rortvedt started behind the plate again for Game 2, with Roberts planning to go to Smith off the bench. Smith pinch-hit for Rortvedt against Jesús Luzardo in the sixth, grounding out to third before driving in two of the Dodgers’ four runs an inning later.
“All that coming together,” Roberts said of the team’s big seventh-inning rally in what had been a pitchers’ duel. “Just really good at-bats up and down the lineup. And even Will being inserted in the game to get a big hit right there vs. Kerkering.
“Can’t say enough about what Ben Rortvedt’s done for us to kind of hold it down for Will to get into the game. What he’s done with our pitching has been incredible.”
The daily conversations between Smith and Roberts on whether he’ll start Game 3 are ongoing, and they’re still waiting to see how he feels going into Tuesday’s workout at Dodger Stadium before making any decisions. But with Smith’s legs back under him, Roberts is hopeful for his availability on Wednesday.
Either way, Smith says he’s up for the task.
“We’ve got to win three,” Smith said. “We’ve got the first two. So we’ve got to stay ready.”
