The Los Angeles Dodgers will be heading back home after back-to-back losses to the Milwaukee Brewers. One of many questions the Dodgers face over the next two days is that Will Smith elected not to challenge two close pitches early in the game.
“Yeah, I went back and looked,” Smith told reporters after the game, including The Athletic‘s Fabian Ardaya. “I don’t know if it clipped it or whatever. It was kind of early in the game. We had him on the ropes where we could just get him out there.”
It’s somewhat understandable that Smith was unwilling to challenge early in the game. This is the first year that hitters, catchers, and pitchers can challenge ball and strike calls. Losing a challenge in the first inning can lead to issues later in the game, but there’s still a give-and-take element.
That’s something that Smith and the Dodgers’ catchers will have to develop a strong feel for moving forward. Their only two challenges came from hitters, with Los Angeles being successful both times.
On the flip side, both Brewers challenges came from their catcher, William Contreras. Contreras won one and lost one.
Brewers Capitalize on Dodgers Non-Challenges
Turang was in an 0-2 count and watched a splitter that hit the low-outside corner of the zone. The pitch was called a ball, but Smith decided to let that one go. Eventually, the Brewers’ second baseman worked the count full and doubled into the left field corner.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers starting pitcher, was more demonstrative on the second one. Perhaps because it was a full count, where a challenge determines the plate appearance’s result.
“And the walk, the walk one was a bummer, but I guess it happens.”
That was a backdoor cutter that would have been one of the most interesting challenges of the postseason. Since the pitch wasn’t challenged, there’s no indication of how close it was.
Smith was asked if Yamamoto delegates the challenges to him. He didn’t elaborate much on that answer, but the Dodgers starter’s on-field actions seemed to indicate as such.
The two non-challenges by Smith came back to bite them. Turang reached base and scored in the first and third innings. It also meant a longer and tougher day for Yamamoto, who lasted just 2.2 innings in this contest.
That led to a long night for the Dodgers bullpen, who had to cover 5.1 innings. The Brewers broke through late, scoring runs on Kris Bubic and Brock Stewart to take a 5-4 lead. Milwaukee added two more insurance runs against Edgardo Henriquez and Justin Wrobleski in the eighth.
Had Smith challenged either pitch and gotten at least one overturned call, it could have changed the entire complexion of the game.
Dodgers Catcher Will Smith Gets Honest About Not Challenging Close Pitches in Brewers Game