Dodgers' Will Smith: Hits first homer of World Series
Rotowire
Smith hit his first homer of this World Series in Tuesday's Game 4 loss to the Yankees.
The playoffs and especially the World Series tend to magnify what would be the normal ebbs and flows of the regular season. Smith is playing through a sore hand after taking a foul ball of his left hand in the NLCS. He had a slightly disappointing regular season, hitting .248/.327/.433 with 20 homers, trading some on-base and batting average for a little more power.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Will start in Game 6
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Smith (hand) will start behind home plate and bat eighth for Game 6 of the NLCS against the Mets on Sunday, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.
Smith received X-rays on his left hand after taking a foul ball off his glove in the seventh inning of Game 5. The results came back negative, and Smith will serve behind home plate as the Dodgers turn to Michael Kopech and the rest of the bullpen. Smith has gone 3-for-19 with two walks and two RBI during the NLCS.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: X-rays negative on left hand
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Manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that Smith received X-rays on his left hand after taking a foul ball off his catching hand in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Mets, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Roberts relayed that the foul ball hitting Smith's left hand led to the catcher being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Friday's game. The X-rays on Smith's hand came back negative, and the 29-year-old is expected to be in the lineup for Game 6 on Sunday. Smith has gone 5-for-35 with six walks, one home run and four RBI during the postseason.
Smith is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rockies.
Smith only got one start in the weekend series in Coors Field as the Dodgers look to keep him fresh for the postseason. Austin Barnes is starting behind the dish, batting ninth.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Gets breather Friday
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Smith is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Rockies, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.
Smith has gone 3-for-13 with one home run and two RBI over his last four games. He'll get some rest Friday, with Austin Barnes serving behind home plate and batting ninth.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: On base three times
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Smith went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Tuesday's loss to the Padres.
Smith notched his fourth multi-hit effort over his last 10 games, a span during which he's hitting .303 with a 3:4 BB:K. Smith has five extra-base hits this month but needs one more home run to reach 20 for the third time in his career. For the season, he's slashing .248/.326/.431 with 72 RBI, 73 runs and a 49:104 BB:K in 530 plate appearances.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Taking Saturday off
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Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup for Saturday's game against Colorado.
Smith has gone 3-for-10 with a homer, two RBI and four runs scored over his last three games. He'll get a breather Saturday, allowing Hunter Feduccia to catch for Walker Buehler while batting ninth.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Goes deep in win
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Smith went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and three total runs scored in Wednesday's 8-4 victory versus the Marlins.
Smith put the Dodgers on the board in the second inning with a solo shot to left field. The long ball was his 19th of the campaign, tying his total from last season. The All-Star catcher's .246 batting average on the campaign is well below his career norm, but he's shown signs of coming to life at the plate of late, batting .333 (7-for-21) with two homers, two RBI and seven runs over his past six games.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Getting breather Tuesday
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Smith is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest in Miami.
It's a routine day off for Smith, who had started four of the last five contests behind the plate. Hunter Feduccia is doing the catching in what will be his second career start.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Getting rest Sunday
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Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.
Smith will receive some routine maintenance after he had started behind the plate in each of the Dodgers' last three games. Austin Barnes will handle catching duties for the Dodgers in the series finale in Atlanta.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Continues to claw out of slump
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Smith went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, an additional run and a double in Wednesday's 10-8 win over the Cubs.
Smith hit the middle of back-to-back-to-back homers for the Dodgers in the first inning and added a double in the seventh, subsequently scoring the go-ahead run. The All-Star catcher went through a prolonged rough stretch at the plate following the break, beginning the second half of the season by batting .165 with a 24.4 percent strikeout rate over his first 28 games. Smith has shown signs of bouncing back since then, however, slashing .278/.316/.500 with two home runs, two doubles, four runs and seven RBI across his past nine contests.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Taking seat Tuesday
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Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cubs, Kirsten Watson of Spectrum SportsNet LA reports.
Smith will get a chance to regroup Tuesday after going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in Monday's series opener. Austin Barnes will replace him behind the plate and bat ninth.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Three hits Sunday
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Smith went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 4-0 win over the Guardians.
Smith posted his second three-hit effort since the All-Star break. His double Sunday was just his second extra-base hit since Aug. 21. He does have three multi-hit games over his last five starts but is slashing just .185/.282/.266 with two homers, 14 RBI, 16 runs and a 13:35 BB:K in 142 plate appearances since the All-Star break.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Not starting Saturday
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Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup for Saturday's game against the Guardians.
After going 0-for-8 with four strikeouts across his last two games, Smith will get a breather Saturday against Gavin Williams and the Guardians. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate instead and bat ninth.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Getting Wednesday off
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Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.
The Dodgers will give Smith a chance to rest Wednesday after he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts during Tuesday's series opener. Austin Barnes will catch instead for Bobby Miller and bat ninth.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Receiving rest Sunday
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Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Austin Barnes will spell Smith behind the dish after the latter catcher started in both of the first two games of the series. Despite banging out two hits in Saturday's 8-6 win, Smith still endured a tough August, slashing just .194/.298/.319 with two home runs, 10 RBI and 12 runs on the month.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Hammers 17th homer
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Smith went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in Friday's 10-9 win over the Diamondbacks.
Smith's seventh-inning blast gave the Dodgers some insurance they would wind up needing when Arizona struck for four runs in the ninth. The catcher has had a largely forgettable August, going 12-for-68 (.176) over 19 contests. He's hit two homers and driven in 10 runs in that span. For the season, Smith has a .243/.325/.428 slash line with 17 homers, 66 RBI, 63 runs scored and 22 doubles across 108 games.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Taking seat Thursday
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Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup for Thursday's game against the Orioles, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
After starting seven of the Dodgers' last eight games, Smith will get a chance to rest Thursday as Austin Barnes (toe) starts behind the dish in his first game back from the injured list.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Not starting Sunday
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Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Smith is on the bench for Sunday's afternoon tilt after starting the previous five games. Hunter Feduccia will step in behind the plate to catch for righty Gavin Stone.
