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It’s unknown what the outcome of Game 2 of the NLCS would have been if Will Smith had utilized two ABS challenge opportunities against the Milwaukee Brewers.
But the fact of the matter is, he didn’t, and now Los Angeles is facing a 2-0 deficit in the NLCS following a 7-4 loss on Monday night.
Smith had two missed ABS challenges against Brice Turang in the first and third innings, costing the Dodgers a chance change the game.
The first missed opportunity happened after starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was about to pick up his second strikeout of the game when he worked Brice Turang to an early 0-2 count.
Yamamoto threw a 91.2 splitter to the bottom corner of the strike zone and it was ruled a ball.
Smith had a chance to ABS challenge the pitch but ultimately decided to check with the third-plate umpire if Turang’s bat crossed the plate.
The umpire ruled that his bat didn’t, keeping his at-bat alive.
“Will’s got a great view of that; you try to defer to your catchers for challenges,” Roberts said. “If you look back, that changes the outing.”
Three pitches later, after the botched attempt, Turang reached base on a double, then was brought home in the next at-bat, following an RBI single by William Contreras.
Yamamoto eventually got out of the inning after the missed challenge opportunity from Smith by getting Jake Bauers and Christian Yelich to hit out.
Smith’s second chance to get Turang to strike out came in his second at-bat, when he was facing a full count.
After Yamamoto threw a cutter in the middle-outside part of the zone, the pitch was ruled a ball, and Smith had a chance to challenge the call but elected not to.
Smith said during postgame that he went and looked at the two missed opportunities.
“It was kind of early in the game, we kind of had him on the ropes,” Smith said. “I figured we could get him out there. The walk one was a bummer. But it happens. It’s baseball.”
After Turang was walked, the Brewers offense exploded in the third inning, after Christian Yelich drove in two runs, sending Yamamoto to the showers early after he threw 75 pitches in 2 ⅔ innings.
When the game was over, the Dodgers remained with their two ABS challenges at their disposal.
Aside from the struggles on defense, Smith is 1-for-23 in the playoffs with one walk and eight strikeouts.
