For the first time in nearly three whole months, Will Smith was back in the starting lineup for the start of the Dodgers’ nine-game homestand on Tuesday.
Smith finished the game going 1-5 with a double and two RBI on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals, but his impact could only bring so much to the table in what ended up being a 13-8 defeat. The Dodgers are hoping that bringing Smith back into the mix will help invigorate the lineup for the stretch run here in September, and Sonja Chen of MLB.com noted Smith as an “invaluable” part of the starting lineup.
“The experience, the calmness in the box, the managing of the pitching staff — all that stuff is crucial,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Although there were hopes that Shohei Ohtani would pitch over the weekend in Detroit, those chances ultimately fell through as the Dodgers decided to go with Tyler Glasnow for the road trip finale. The Dodgers are still undecided as to when Ohtani will return to the mound, but they do expect to have him back to his two-way duties at some point this season, per Jack Harris of the California Post.
“Obviously, it’s tricky navigating a build-up progression with someone who is also DH’ing by night,” Friedman told the California Post in an interview on Tuesday.
But, the veteran executive added, “he obviously wants to get back out there, helping the team on the mound as well.”
Tuesday turned out to be the roughest outing for Eric Lauer for any home start as a Dodger, as the left-hander allowed seven runs over just three innings, suffering his first loss as a Dodger at home across six starts. Lauer spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA postgame where he discussed how things began to unravel for him, specifically after allowing back-to-back two-out home runs in the second inning.
“I think, overall, my command wasn’t very good— too many misses, too many big misses. I didn’t feel like I really had a good grasp on where the ball was going today, and that obviously hurt. Trying to make in game adjustments, I gotta get better at that, and just making sure I don’t let things compound like that.”
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