The Los Angeles Dodgers concluded their homestand Wednesday night with a rubber match against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It coincided with Will Smith bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, a giveaway that harkened back to the Dodgers winning the 2024 World Series.
It was the fourth Dodgers bobblehead giveaway this season that drew inspiration from the team’s championship win against the New York Yankees. Previous versions that fans received were of Freddie Freeman’s pose from his walk-off grand slam, manager Dave Roberts’ celebrating and Mookie Betts running to first base in the pivotal fifth inning of Game 5.
Bobblehead nights are often a fun subplot to the game being played and can help break up the long grind of a season. It can even inspire remarkable performances or dramatic hits, particularly for Shohei Ohtani.
But that possibility was not afforded to Smith, as Dalton Rushing was in the Dodgers lineup for his third start since getting recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
“It was more so that I just felt with (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto yesterday, I wanted to have Will catch him,” Roberts explained. “We needed to find a win, and I just felt that the familiarity with those two was there, and Yamamoto is very nuanced with how he pitches, so he needed to catch that game, for me.
“And then I didn’t want Will to catch four games. So my wife is upset that he’s not catching on his bobblehead night. I just don’t keep track of bobblehead nights. But I didn’t want Will to catch four in a row, so that’s the genesis behind this. And so that’s kind of the thought.”
Smith went a combined 3-for-8 with one double, one home run and five RBI while starting in the series finale against the Los Angeles Angels and first two of the Diamondbacks series.
Will Smith’s workload
Roberts had previously made it clear the Dodgers planned to aggressively manage Smith’s starts this season in effort to ensure he’s healthy and not fatigued heading into the playoffs.
Smith at no point this season has started four games in a row. He has appeared as a pinch-hitter to play in at least four consecutive games: May 2-6, 8-11 and 16-20.
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