Will Smith and Alex Call help Dodgers overcome mistakes in win over Giants

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The Dodgers (26-18) are trying to slightly decrease Ohtani's workload after his recent struggles at the plate. It’s the first time a healthy Ohtani has been out of back-to-back starting lineups, except for the paternity list, since the universal designated hitter rule was implemented in 2022.

Though the Dodgers outlasted the Giants (18-26) without Ohtani's help, the team’s compounded mistakes almost cost it a win.

In the second inning, the bottom of the lineup strung together at-bats to score Max Muncy, who reached base on a walk. However, after Miguel Rojas softly hit a ground ball to Giants starter Landen Roupp, Teoscar Hernández found himself stranded in no-man’s land after running toward home from third — there was no force play at the plate.

Rojas, who stood on the basepath, slammed his helmet down in frustration after Smith struck out to end the inning.

Teoscar Hernández celebrates after hitting a double in the first inning for the Dodgers on Thursday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Rojas wasn't the only one upset. Dalton Rushing was shown on the game broadcast breaking his bat in the dugout and slamming his leg guard on the back bench after losing a review challenge on a called third strike. Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan shared some words of encouragement with the catcher and patted him on the back.

Sheehan’s night was relatively uneventful before the fifth. He put together three hitless innings before San Francisco's Rafael Devers hit a one-out single to left field.

From there, things got worse. In the fifth, Jung Hoo Lee hit an inside-the-park home run when Hernández misread the ball off the left-field wall, letting the ball bounce past him. Rojas' 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.

Read more: Shohei Ohtani holds Giants scoreless, Dodgers' bats heat up to snap losing streak

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

Sheehan finished his night after six innings, giving up two earned runs, two hits with six strikeouts and two walks. With combined efforts from relievers Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia and Edgardo Henriquez, the Dodgers shut down the Giants the rest of the way.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.