Smith will be on the bench Saturday against the Giants.
Smith sits for the second time in three days, with the Dodgers seemingly prioritizing rest in the final week of the regular season. He's one homer shy of his third straight 20-homer campaign but will have to wait until the final game of the season to try for it, unless he appears as a pinch hitter Saturday. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate in Smith's absence, catching for Clayton Kershaw.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Lifts 19th homer
Rotowire
Smith went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 6-2 win over the Giants.
Smith got the scoring started with his first-inning blast. The catcher has struggled a bit lately, going just 5-for-36 (.139) over his last 10 games, though he's still managed five RBI in that span. For the season, he's posted a .259/.357/.437 slash line with 19 long balls, 76 RBI, 79 runs scored, three stolen bases, 21 doubles and two triples over 125 games.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Rest day Thursday
Rotowire
Smith is out of the lineup Thursday at Colorado.
Austin Barnes will start behind the plate and bat ninth in the Dodgers' series finale against the Rockies. Smith had caught two straight games while going 1-for-8 with two RBI.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Gets Saturday off
Rotowire
Smith will sit Saturday against the Giants, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
The Dodgers have gone with a pattern of two starts for Smith followed by one start for Austin Barnes for most of the last month. If the pattern continues, we'll see Smith start Sunday and then four more times over the final week. The Dodgers are all but locked into the second seed in the National League, however, trailing Atlanta by 4.5 games while leading Milwaukee by 6.5, which could result in additional off days for the team's regulars over the final week.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Gets breather Wednesday
Rotowire
Smith is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Tigers.
This appears to be a routine day of rest for Smith, who started behind the plate in the first two games of the Dodgers' three-game set versus Detroit. Austin Barnes will catch and bat ninth in Wednesday's series finale.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Gets breather Wednesday
Rotowire
Smith is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Padres.
This seems to be a planned day of rest for Smith, who went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and a double in the Dodgers' win over San Diego on Tuesday. Austin Barnes will catch and bat ninth Wednesday.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Lifts three-run homer
Rotowire
Smith went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run, a double, a walk and three total runs scored in Tuesday's 11-2 win over the Padres.
Smith had gone 0-for-11 with four walks over his last three games before breaking out of the slump. His fourth-inning blast put the Dodgers firmly in control in the blowout victory. The catcher also snapped a 10-game homer drought with his 18th long ball of the season. He's maintained a .269/.367/.450 slash line with 71 RBI, 74 runs scored and three stolen bases over 115 contests.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Not starting Sunday
Rotowire
Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals, Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA reports.
Smith will receive a breather Sunday in Washington after he posted a .619 OPS while starting the previous nine games. Austin Barnes will take over behind the plate and bat ninth.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Three knocks in rout
Rotowire
Smith went 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's 10-0 win over the Marlins.
Thursday marked Smith's fifth multi-hit performance in his last nine games. The 28-year-old backstop has posted a .325 batting average in 40 at-bats during this stretch, although 11 of his 13 hits have been singles. In 45 games since the All-Star break, Smith is slashing .266/.318/.395 with 11 doubles, four home runs, 22 RBI, 25 runs scored and two steals with a 19.5 percent strikeout rate and a 6.2 percent walk rate across 195 plate appearances.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Swipes bag Tuesday
Rotowire
Smith went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to Miami.
Smith started the game as the Dodgers' DH but shifted to his usual spot behind the plate in the eighth inning as a replacement for Austin Barnes, who exited the contest after getting hit in the head on a backswing. Smith had already contributed a run-scoring single and a stolen base at that point, extending a modest three-game hitting streak. The All-Star catcher has been heating up of late, slashing .333/.375/.467 with a homer, two runs and two RBI over his past seven games.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Gets day off Wednesday
Rotowire
Smith is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.
It's a routine day of rest for Smith, who went 4-for-10 with a solo homer and two runs scored in the first two games of the Dodgers' three-game series versus Arizona. Austin Barnes will catch and bat ninth.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Knocks solo shot
Rotowire
Smith went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 9-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Smith has had a rather modest August, batting .247 (23-for-93) with four homers and 14 RBI over 24 contests. This was his second straight multi-hit game, and his sixth such effort of the month. The veteran catcher is at a .271/.366/.461 slash line with 17 long balls, 66 RBI, 67 runs scored and two stolen bases over 104 games this season.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Gets breather Sunday
Rotowire
Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.
Smith will get a breather after going 1-for-8 with two walks and two runs scored in the first two games of the three-game series at Boston. Austin Barnes is starting at catcher for the Dodgers and batting ninth.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Sitting out later game
Rotowire
Smith is not in the lineup for Thursday's later game at Cleveland.
Smith caught all nine innings and went 0-for-4 with an RBI sac fly in Wednesday's rain-suspended 6-1 win, which had to be concluded Thursday afternoon. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate in the Dodgers' regularly-scheduled tilt versus the Guardians.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Slugs 16th homer
Rotowire
Smith went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's loss to the Guardians.
He gave the Dodgers an early lead by taking former battery-mate Noah Syndergaard deep in the first inning, but it didn't hold up. Smith is having a sluggish August by his standards, slashing .254/.295/.423 through 19 games with three of his 16 homers on the season and 11 of his 63 RBI.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Back in lineup
Rotowire
Smith will start at designated hitter and bat cleanup Thursday versus the Brewers, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Smith was set to get a day off Thursday, but J.D. Martinez (groin) was a late scratch, so Smith will instead just receive a break behind the plate. The 28-year-old has gone 3-for-8 with two RBI and a run scored over the first two games of the series.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Gets breather Thursday
Rotowire
Smith is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Brewers.
Austin Barnes will catch and bat ninth versus the Brewers and right-hander Corbin Burnes. J.D. Martinez is serving as the Dodgers' designated hitter and batting cleanup. This appears to be a routine day of rest for Smith, who had started five straight games behind the dish.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Tallies three hits
Rotowire
Smith went 3-for-4 with two RBI in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Brewers.
Smith also supplied a sacrifice fly. The catcher had gone just 4-for-22 over his last seven games since his previous multi-hit effort. For the season, he's up to a .277/.378/.469 slash line with 15 home runs, 61 RBI, 62 runs scored, two stolen bases and 18 doubles through 94 games as a consistent presence in the heart of the lineup.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Mashes 15th homer
Rotowire
Smith went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Rockies.
Smith saw a seven-game hitting streak end Thursday versus the Rockies, but he snapped out of a quiet spell with his game-tying blast in the first inning Saturday. The catcher is up to 15 long balls on the season, two of which have come in August. For the season, he's added 59 RBI, 60 runs scored, two stolen bases and a .275/.381/.471 slash line over 91 contests.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Sitting Thursday
Rotowire
Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup Thursday against the Rockies.
Smith is currently enjoying a seven-game hitting streak but will get a breather for Thursday's series opener with the Rockies. Austin Barnes will fill in behind the dish and bat ninth.
