{"id":797851,"date":"2026-05-15T09:21:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T09:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/797851\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T09:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T09:21:20","slug":"will-smith-alex-call-help-dodgers-overcome-mistakes-in-win-over-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/797851\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Smith, Alex Call help Dodgers overcome mistakes in win over Giants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You better run. Those three words were the only thought racing through pinch-hitter Alex Call\u2019s head when he laced a pitch from San Francisco Giants reliever Matt Gage into right field.<\/p>\n

The two-run single, which gave the Dodgers the lead, sparked a three-run rally in the sixth inning that concluded when Miguel Rojas drove in Call on a single to center field.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like I hit it,\u201d said Call, who initially hesitated to run after making contact. \u201cBut I guess I just didn\u2019t quite see it off the bat, and I\u2019m like looking for it, keep looking up, and then all of a sudden I hear the crowd get really loud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Call\u2019s single helped the Dodgers<\/a> beat the Giants 5-2<\/a> on Thursday night, reclaiming first in the National League West<\/a> after San Diego lost to Milwaukee. The Dodgers also escaped a third straight series loss at home ahead of their weekend road series against the Angels<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Call wasn\u2019t the only Dodger who thrived under pressure. Designated hitter Will Smith<\/a>, whom Dodgers manager Dave Roberts<\/a> described earlier in the day as \u201cunflappable,\u201d hit from the leadoff spot for the first time in his career and homered to right-center field in the first inning to set the tone for the series-splitting win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was nice, huh?\u201d Roberts said. \u201cLike I said before the game, just to be able to plug him in, you feel confident that no matter what, he\u2019s going to give you his best. And I didn\u2019t expect a homer, but it was a good way to start.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision to put Smith in the leadoff spot allowed Roberts to maximize the 31-year-old\u2019s plate appearances without moving other players after Shohei Ohtani<\/a> was held out of the lineup.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers (26-18) are trying to lighten Ohtani\u2019s workload after his recent struggles at the plate. It\u2019s the first time a healthy Ohtani has been out of back-to-back batting orders, except for the paternity list, since the universal designated hitter rule was implemented in 2022.<\/p>\n

\"Will <\/p>\n

Will Smith gets a face full of sunflower seeds from teammate Andy Pages after hitting a leadoff home run in the first inning for the Dodgers on Thursday.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Though the Dodgers outlasted the Giants (18-26) without Ohtani\u2019s help, the team\u2019s compounded mistakes almost cost it a win.<\/p>\n

In the second inning, the bottom of the lineup strung together two hits to score Max Muncy, who reached on a walk. However, after Miguel Rojas<\/a> softly hit a ground ball to Giants starter Landen Roupp<\/a>, Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> found himself stranded in no-man\u2019s land after running toward home from third \u2014 there was no force play at the plate.<\/p>\n

Rojas, who stood on the basepath, slammed his helmet down in frustration after Smith struck out to end the inning.<\/p>\n

Rojas wasn\u2019t the only one upset. Dalton Rushing<\/a> was shown on the game broadcast breaking his bat in the dugout<\/a> and slamming his leg guard on the back bench after striking out in the fourth inning. Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan<\/a> shared some words of encouragement with the catcher and patted him on the back.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was frustrated obviously with that at-bat,\u201d Sheehan said. \u201cWe just wanted to let him know that he\u2019s good and we still got work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite striking out three times in three at-bats, Rushing continued to work well with Sheehan. <\/p>\n

Sheehan gave up just two earned runs and two hits with six strikeouts and two walks over six innings. He produced a 50% whiff rate<\/a> with his slider, and his four-seam dotted the zone 73% of the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time he\u2019s been going out there, he\u2019s getting better,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cAnd today was his best outing in totality. The fastball was good, the life to it, the command of it. I thought Dalton did a great job with him, in the sense of when to use a curveball, when to use a change-up, when to use a fastball, and we needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a four pitch arsenal, Sheehan put together three hitless innings before San Francisco\u2019s Rafael Devers hit a one-out single to left field.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

From there, things got worse. In the fifth, Jung Hoo Lee hit an inside-the-park home run when Hern\u00e1ndez misread the ball off the left-field wall in foul territory, allowing the ball to roll past him. Rojas\u2019 relay throw was too high for Rushing to catch, and Lee slid into home to become the first Giants player to hit an inside-the-park homer at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n

But the Dodgers responded in the sixth. After Max Muncy<\/a> reached base on a force out at second and was moved over to third on a single from Hern\u00e1ndez, Alex Call<\/a> delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single to right field. Rojas then blooped a ball over the infield to drive in Call.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis game at the end of the day is about results,\u201d Call said. \u201cSometimes you just have to let it play out and just play baseball. Sometimes you just have to get through the tough stuff. We\u2019re doing a great job in here and no one\u2019s losing faith in anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

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