Ben Rortvedt had only in about 10 minutes of notice that he started in yesterday’s match after the late department of Will Smith, but he was not at all disturbed. He just shot himself, stretched, obtained information from Smith and was ready to leave, he told journalists after the match.
This is exactly the attitude that made waves, at least for the manager Dave Roberts. “He is a backup receiver who is there for his launchers, and he did an excellent job to receive, learn these launchers and try to understand what they are good at, to go through sequencing, targeting, and therefore that’s good,” said Roberts after Tuesday’s match.
Rortvedt was behind marble since not one but two almost time during its first departures, a testimony of this ability to support launchers and call an effective game.
With Smith still does not feel well and that Dalton probably rushed for a more prolonged period, it is likely that Rortvedt will get even more action behind the plate when the season ends. It is not particularly offensive – an average of 0.132 out of 76 in bats this season – but the Dodgers do not necessarily need another stroke. They need a pro behind the plate, and Rortvedt seems to do very well there.
Mookie Betts again looks like her old self, writes Sonja Chen on mlb.com, and not for a moment too early. Although the star considered that his season lost only a month ago, he managed to transform these bad days into a bad memory.
Shohei Ohtani made his next departure against the Philadelphia phillies after a few rotation reshuffles, according to Beth Harris at the Associated Press, and it is not a bad thing. With the phillies in the running in playoffs and the dodgers still do not play their best, having Ohtani on the mound could be critical.
The Washington Nationals have their eyes on the senior vice-president of the Dodgers, Josh byrnes, for their new baseball operations, according to Ken Rosenthal and his colleagues of athletics. The nationals cleaned the house recently, and Byrnes – which was a familiar face in the front office of the Dodgers while the team has turned into power – could be a good adjustment.
