Dalton

Rushing

Dalton Rushing will handle the catching duties for Los Angeles with Chuckie Robinson coming up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take Smith’s roster spot ahead of Thursday’s series finale in Pittsburgh. The 31-year-old backstop has missed four straight games due to neck stiffness. The move will be backdated a couple days, which means Smith should return at some point next week.

All signs point to Smith hitting the injured list later this week. He’s sitting out his fourth consecutive game on Wednesday night against the Pirates while he continues to deal with neck stiffness. The Dodgers are obviously prioritizing the postseason over everything else, which is why they would rather give their 31-year-old star backstop some additional time off to put the issue to bed rather than take any chances. It’ll be Dalton Rushing handling the bulk of the catching duties in his absence, which is a definite short-term boost to his fantasy appeal.

Smith will miss his third straight game while dealing with stiffness in his neck. He’ll sit with Dalton Rushing earning another start behind the plate in Smith’s absence.

Early April’s biggest surprise, Rushing had been very quiet these last seven weeks. With the bat, anyway. However, he was able to get a second straight start today with Will Smith ailing and took advantage of it with his first homer since Apr. 20. He had been 9-for-51 with one RBI since the beginning of May.

Dalton Rushing is starting in his place against the Angels.

Dalton Rushing will handle the catching duties at Chase Field in this one. Smith has started six of the last eight games behind the plate for Los Angeles. He’s homered twice during that span.

Rushing was incredible in his first handful of starts. but he’s now 7-for-43 with no extra-base hits since Apr. 21. The Dodgers probably won’t be so eager to try to find ways to squeeze him into the lineup until he heats up again.

It’s nothing more than a routine night off for the 36-year-old slugger. Dalton Rushing will start in his place at first base and will bat eighth for the Dodgers against Angels’ right-hander Jack Kochanowicz.

It’s a standard off day for the catcher with a day game after a night game. Dalton Rushing will catch for the Dodgers and hit seventh. After a torrid start to the season, Rushing is just five for his last 24 with no home runs in the last two weeks.

As expected, Ohtani will pitch exclusively against the Astros at Daikin Park on Tuesday night with rookie Dalton Rushing occupying the DH spot and leading off. The 31-year-old two-way sensation is out of the lineup while pitching for the third time in recent weeks. The positive news here is that he appears to be fully healthy and the decision isn’t injury-related.