Dalton Rushing started at catcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday with Will Smith unavailable because of a right hand contusion.
Rushing played seven defensive innings before he was replaced by Ben Rortvedt in the bottom of the eighth. That proved costly as the light-hitting catcher was thrust into a big spot in the ninth inning.
As the Dodgers were trying to mount a comeback, Rortvedt came up as the go-ahead run with two outs in the top of the ninth. The 27-year-old, who entered the game hitting just .095 this season, struck out on three pitches.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained his decision to take Rushing out early was in effort to keep him fresh for the weekend, via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
“Obviously, in a separate world, I would’ve loved to have had Dalton up there,” Roberts said. “But when you have three hits through eight [innings] and you’re down 5-0, just kind of trying to figure out how to preserve him for the next few days, too.”
If Roberts knew the Dodgers were going to make a late rally, he would have kept the rookie catcher in the game to take the at-bat. Rushing’s spot in the lineup was eight batters away heading into the ninth inning.
With L.A. showing no signs of life on offense before the ninth, Roberts felt it was beneficial to remove Rushing early and preserve some of his innings for their weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles.
Prior to getting removed, Rushing went 1-for-3 with a double off Paul Skenes in the third inning, which represented the Dodgers’ first hit of the game.
Smith is expected to be sidelined through at least the rest of the Dodgers’ road trip, which will require Rushing to assume most of the playing time at catcher.
Will Smith likely to avoid IL stint
Although he is unlikely to play this weekend, Smith will likely avoid a stint on the 10-day injured list after encouraging results from a CT scan on his right hand.
As uncertainty hovered around Smith’s availability, the Dodgers recalled Rortvedt for the first time since being acquired as part of a three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds on July 31.
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