Dodgers Interview: Smith on his big night catching Yoshi and providing him a win

TORONTO — Dodgers backstop Will Smith did his batterymate a solid on Saturday, smashing a no-doubt solo shot in the top of the seventh to put the Dodgers ahead for good. But after the game, in typical Smith fashion, he kept the focus on the brilliant performance of Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

“That was special,” Smith said of Yamamoto’s complete game four-hitter. “He had his pitches going. He was locating the ball well, mixing speeds, keeping them off balance. That’s what we needed. We needed a great start out of somebody. Yoshi stepped up today and gave it to us.” The tone was the same when he revisited the long first inning that ended with zero damage. “That was huge to get out of that with no runs. That was a momentum swing for us. We needed that. Just mixing, just doing what Yoshi does.”

Toronto tried to pounce early in counts. Smith leaned into that reality instead of fighting it. “The Jays have shown they’re swinging early,” he said. “Just mixing, keeping them really off balance.” When asked why Yamamoto settled in and rolled through the middle, his answer stayed on the same track: “He was locating the ball well. He throws strike one. He gets ahead. He’s got nasty stuff.”

Smith’s own night carried weight. He has piled up hits this October, but the big fly finally came at the right time. “I hope so,” he said when asked if the hand is coming along. “I’m just trying not to do too much, trying to move the ball and help this offense score runs.” He kept the same approach in the biggest at-bat. “You can let the emotions get the best of you, try to hit a homer every time or be the hero every time and it doesn’t work out,” Smith said. “So just trying to simplify, put together a good at-bat, swing the right pitch, and move forward.”

Kevin Gausman gave the Dodgers little margin. Smith tipped his cap and then explained how he and the lineup worked him. “He was pitching really well. He was really locating the fastball at the bottom. His split was on,” Smith said. “He threw a few sliders, maybe not as many as we thought, but he was just mixing his fastball and splitter and it was tough at-bats.” The breakthrough finally arrived. “He threw me all heaters,” Smith said. “I got ahead 0-1, then he kind of nibbled to get back in the count. I got a mistake up and was able to keep it fair.”

For a player who usually keeps his reactions tight, even he let the moment show. “It’s a big swing, obviously,” he said. “The emotions are running high, but also trying to get the guys going… just trying to keep that momentum going for us.”

The catching piece never leaves his mind for long. Asked how they navigated Toronto’s early aggression after that first inning, Smith brought it back to the foundation. “That was huge to get out of that with no runs,” he said again. “That was a momentum swing for us.” His summary of Yamamoto’s night matched the scoreboard. “He had his pitches going. He was locating the ball well. Mixing speeds, keeping them really off balance.”

Now Smith and the Dodgers get a happy flight back from Canada to LA, where a million Dodger fans will be ready to see more of the same.

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