The Los Angeles Dodgers are still trying to get their feet under themselves on offense, with Will Smith in particular mired in his own slump in the batter’s box.
The Dodgers backstop has not swung the bat up to his standards over the past 30 games, but it has been worse as of late.
“He hasn’t been swinging the bat well for a while now,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained why Smith was dropped to seventh in the batting order. “He’s always putting forth his best effort as far as the intent, which I really appreciate.
“I think for me, sliding him down a couple spots, it’s three in a row tonight, let him really lock in on the catching part of it with Shohei, and then let the game come to me. For me, it was just take a little bit of the focus off the offense.”
Smith has hit .208/.290/.302 over his last 15 games and there has been a severe lack of pop all season long.
The right-hander’s weak-contact percentage is up to 2.7% from 1.8% in 2025. Even though Roberts can tell Smith is stepping up to the plate with a plan, the results haven’t been there as they historically have.
“He’s not hitting the fastball. For me, there’s a lot of he’s missing the fastball,” Roberts said. “I think there’s sliders, spin, that’s in zone that he’s just missing.
“I think when you’re not squaring up the fastball and you’re missing spin, that’s a tough combo. Again, the intent, the grind of at-bats, is certainly there. But it’s just not ending at-bats when he typically does.”
Smith has struggled against breaking pitches this season, but sliders have especially given him a hard time. The 31-year-old has a .200 batting average and .200 slugging percentage against them this season, compared to .359 and .609 in 2025.
The same goes for fastballs, against which he has a .250 batting average and .425 slugging percentage, compared to .295 and .571 last season.
Addressing those two issues is the first step toward making meaningful improvements this season.
Shohei Ohtani powers Dodgers to series win
The Dodgers took two of three from the San Diego Padres this week in what was their first meeting of the season. It was a big game from Shohei Ohtani that helped L.A. take the rubber match on Wednesday.
Ohtani became the first pitcher in MLB history to hit a leadoff home run during the regular season. He also accomplished the feat during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series in 2025.
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