The Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup for Wednesday's series finale against the Chicago Cubs had a surprising omission.
All-Star catcher Will Smith, who didn't play this past Sunday and then had a team off-day Monday, was out of the lineup for Wednesday's game, too. While the Dodgers have been cautious with Smith this year as the team's everyday catcher, their off-day on Thursday made Wednesday's game an obvious start.
Smith revealed to David Vassegh of AM570 radio ahead of Wednesday's game that the reason he is out of the lineup was due to a minor injury he suffered Tuesday night.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Smith banged his wrist while tagging out Ian Happ at a play at the plate. Smith said he woke up with his wrist feeling sore, and manager Dave Roberts elected to give him the extra day to recuperate.
Here's a video of the play, in which Happ was called out after review:
Neither Roberts nor Smith were concerned about the injury, with Roberts saying Smith's status will be based on his pain tolerance levels.
Smith is off to a red-hot start this season, slashing .350/.453/.567 with three home runs, 15 runs batted in, and an OPS of 1.020. He's already generated 1.0 fWAR and has been sensational with runners in scoring position, slashing .733/.684/1.067 with 13 RBIs in 19 such plate appearances.
On Wednesday, though, the Dodgers will be without Smith, and backup catcher Austin Barnes will be in the lineup filling in.
Barnes has struggled early this season, going just 2-for-19 (.105) with two RBIs, seven strikeouts, and an OPS of .263.
The Dodgers will thus rely on the top of the lineup to carry the load against Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, who enters Wednesday's contest with a 2.01 ERA across 22.1 innings this year.
Boyd faced the Dodgers two weeks ago, allowing three earned runs across six innings of work with seven strikeouts in a 3-0 Cubs loss.
First pitch for Wednesday night's game is 4 p.m. PT at Wrigley Field. This will be the seventh and final game these teams play this regular season, with each team having won three apiece thus far.
