The team announced that Smith departed with a right hand contusion after taking a foul ball off his throwing hand during the second inning. Smith hung in long enough to finish that inning behind the plate, but after getting checked out by a team trainer, he was removed from the game.
Rookie Dalton Rushing pinch-hit in Smith’s spot in the top of the third and replaced him at catcher, going 1-for-2 with a single. He took a ball off his right hand on a swing before drawing a walk in the seventh and was able to stay in the game.
With the loss, the Dodgers squandered the chance to extend their lead beyond 2 1/2 games in the NL West after the Padres were swept by the Orioles.
Missed opportunities were a theme for the Dodgers’ offense, which twice stranded the bases loaded in the early innings and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Inconsistent production has been an issue for the team over the past two months, but the Dodgers would be in a worse spot if Smith needs to miss any time.
Through July, Smith was the Dodgers’ steadiest hitter, leading the National League with a .325 batting average and reliably coming through in clutch moments. But the starting backstop slumped badly in August, hitting .159 with a .630 OPS while working through mechanical tweaks to his swing.
A contusion is likely not serious enough to warrant a trip to the injured list, but if Smith is forced to miss any time, Rushing would be the top option to get the bulk of the playing time behind the plate. Beyond those two, the Dodgers do not have another catcher on the 40-man roster.
