Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star catcher Will Smith got into his first game action since Sept. 9 in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Smith suffered a hand fracture in early September, and was only able to play in one game since Sept. 3. While he was on the active 26-man roster for the Wild Card round, he didn’t play.
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On Saturday, though, Smith entered the game in the top of the fifth inning as a pinch hitter, and remained in as a catcher. He ended up finishing the game, going 0-for-2 with a hit by pitch and a run scored.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game that Smith would likely enter the game to “get his feet wet” after missing so much time.
“There’s a chance that he can come into tonight’s game and kind of get his feet wet a little bit,” Roberts said pregame.
That’s exactly what happened, and it led to Roberts getting a question on Smith’s status for Game 2 of the series on Monday. Could he potentially start in Game 2 and play a full nine innings?
“Still up in the air,” Roberts said. “We might run the same playbook, or we could start him. But I think for me, just kind of seeing how he comes in tomorrow [will determine my decision].”
This was Smith’s first time catching in nearly a month, and Roberts liked what he saw out of his All-Star backstop. However, he also doesn’t want to rush him back into full action as LA is not only focused on winning this series, but also going deep into October.
Smith spoke about that process ahead of the team’s Game 1 win.
“It’s definitely still rehabbing on the hand but definitely making sure the shoulder is not getting banged up, the hips, the legs, all that, just kind of getting my feet back under me,” Smith said.
“We’re trying to be smart about it. It’s a long month, but also there’s some urgency to win now, obviously. So just trying to kind of weigh both of those and go from there.”
If Smith doesn’t start in Game 2, catcher Ben Rortvedt will get another start behind home plate, with Smith likely entering the game as pinch hitter sometime in the middle of the contest.
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