Smith performs rare feat, then Vargas' pinch-hit blast wins it

LOS ANGELES -- When Will Smith signed a 10-year, $140 million extension with the Dodgers before the start of the season, he knew there was an opportunity for him to become one of the best catchers in an organization that has had more than its fair share of stars at the position.

While there’s a long way to go before Smith is among those names, he’s off to a pretty good start. With his three-homer game on Friday, he became just the fourth backstop in Dodgers history to accomplish the feat, joining Roy Campanella, Mike Piazza and Yasmani Grandal.

Smith, however, wasn’t done doing damage, as he smashed a two-run homer in the first inning on Saturday off right-hander Freddy Peralta in the Dodgers’ 5-3 win over the Brewers at Dodger Stadium. With that blast, Smith homered in four consecutive at-bats, tying him for the AL/NL record. He’s the first Dodgers player to do it since Adrián González from April 7-8, 2015. He’s just the third player to do it as a catcher in AL/NL history, joining Johnny Bench (1973) and Benito Santiago (1996).

“I’ve always been a guy that tries to stick to my approach, whatever it is in that moment,” Smith said. “Stick to it and hopefully, good things happen. They don’t always happen, but yeah, I was able to get us two runs.”

In his second at-bat of the game, as he chased even more history, Smith just got under a four-seamer up in the zone, sending center fielder Blake Perkins to the warning track.

“He’s just so consistent and he just doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves of being one of the top two catchers in the game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Prior to this weekend’s series against the Brewers, Smith hadn’t had the same impact offensively as the Dodgers have grown accustomed to since he became their everyday catcher in 2020. Uncharacteristically, he had homered just twice since the start of June.

Still, Roberts praised Smith for not running away from the struggles and working through them. His ability to withstand tough stretches is a big reason the Dodgers decided to invest in him long term. The fact that he can change games with four homers in a span of 24 hours helps, too.

“I know that he’s thrown out a lot of hits and had a lot of big games and big series, but to be able to use the whole field, take the walks when he needs to, they’re running some good arms at him and he’s still controlling the zone,” said Roberts. “… Even his outs are really quality at-bats.”

While Smith got the team started offensively, it was Miguel Vargas who delivered the biggest hit of the night. With the game tied at 3 in the eighth, the Brewers turned to left-hander Bryan Hudson, who is putting together an All-Star-caliber first half after the Dodgers designated him for assignment this offseason to clear roster space for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, leading to Milwaukee acquiring him.

With the Brewers turning to a lefty, Roberts leaned on Vargas off the bench. Vargas responded by hitting a solo homer just over the stretched arm of Christian Yelich in left to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. Shohei Ohtani then tacked on another run by hitting his NL-leading 28th homer of the season.

“It feels great,” Vargas said. “I’ve been patient. I’ve been working on myself, trying to get this type of opportunity. I’m grateful to have it and be successful.”

After getting called up from Triple-A on June 17, Vargas hasn’t gotten much playing time with the Dodgers. That has been a controversial decision given the severe struggles at the plate from Chris Taylor, Kiké Hernández and Cavan Biggio, all of whom were getting consistent reps over the last two weeks.

But with Max Muncy taking months to recover from an oblique injury and Jason Heyward now down for a couple weeks with a left knee bone bruise, Vargas is expected to get more opportunities in left field and, possibly, at third base. Vargas, who started on Friday, will get another start on Sunday. So far, the Cuban utility man has taken full advantage of the chances he’s gotten.

“A hundred percent, it’s hard to do,” Vargas said, when asked if it was difficult to not get frustrated by the lack of playing time. “But at the end of the day, this is a team sport. That’s why we do it. That’s all I can control is to worry about myself and be ready when the moments come.”