'Grinding' Smith breaks out with big night, showcasing Dodgers' depth

MILWAUKEE -- If the Dodgers are going to get to where they want to go this season, offensively, it’ll have to be on the backs of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

But don’t forget about the guys behind that trio, and their importance to Los Angeles’ starting nine. That includes catcher Will Smith, who had an encouraging performance in Tuesday’s 7-2 win over the Brewers at American Family Field.

“I’ve been grinding,” Smith said after going 3-for-4 with a home run and a double.

Smith entered Tuesday with three hits in 27 at-bats over seven games in August. He had not hit a home run since July 6, which came during a stretch in which he went deep in four consecutive plate appearances over two games -- coincidentally against the Brewers.

It took him four-plus innings to match that hit total on Tuesday.

“He needed it,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He's been grinding, man. He just doesn’t show it from his demeanor, but he's been working really hard.”

Smith, who drew a pair of walks in the series opener, worked a full count against Brewers starter Colin Rea in the second inning. Rea came inside with his 3-2 offering, which was a 92.8 mph sinker right on the edge of the inner half of the plate. Smith crushed it a Statcast-projected 412 feet with a 106.8 mph exit velocity.

Each of Smith’s three hits on Tuesday came on pitches on the inner half of the plate. He singled on a 93.7 mph fastball from Rea in the fourth and doubled on a 91.5 mph sinker in the fifth.

“Getting to that pitch -- which he wasn't getting to for the last few weeks, and just to throw up some hits was a good thing,” Roberts said.

Smith has been working on adjustments offensively, as he looked to get his body in the right position in the batter’s box.

“I wasn't far off, but it's a hard game,” Smith said. “So when you're off a little bit, it's hard to compete.”

Smith acknowledged some frustration from the recent stretch, but he noted “you just continue to show up every day, go out there to compete, try to help the team win, and just keep working the cage, keep trying to get better and fix it.”

Roberts slotted Smith in the No. 6 spot in Los Angeles’ order on Tuesday, as he looked to get the backstop a different look. Of Smith’s other 90 starts this season, 58 came as the cleanup hitter.

“I still believe that for us to be our best version of our ballclub, he's got to be hitting fourth or fifth,” Roberts said of Smith. “But it goes to him swinging the bat well and earning that right. Tonight, last night, was a good step forward.”

Like the 1,598 combined feet of home runs they hit on Tuesday night, the Dodgers could go a long way this fall as they continue to get healthy and flex their offensive muscle. Betts returned on Monday after a near two-month stint on the IL (fractured left hand), and Max Muncy (right oblique strain) and Tommy Edman (right wrist surgery, sprained ankle) are trending toward returning during next week’s homestand.

“The lineup is starting to look like it should,” Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw said Monday night, after Betts’ return. “It’s pretty cool.”

Los Angeles hit four home runs on Tuesday and pounded out 13 hits. Each of the nine hitters in the starting lineup had at least one hit. After Smith’s blast in the second, Shohei Ohtani (413 feet) hit a solo shot in the third, and Kenosha, Wis., native Gavin Lux (413) and Andy Pages (360) each hit a two-run blast in the fourth.

The power-filled night backed starter Gavin Stone’s best outing since the complete-game shutout he threw on June 26 against the White Sox. Stone, who posted a 6.91 ERA over his past six starts after the complete game, allowed just one run on three hits, including a solo homer by William Contreras, in five innings.

After going 11-13 in July, the Dodgers are 8-3 to start August.

“When you get good starting pitching, it does take pressure off the offense,” Roberts said. “We've had some timely hits. I talked about this last series, I didn't think we were good situationally. This series, so far, we've been good. It's just nice to see up and down the lineup guys are performing, one through nine.”