MINNEAPOLIS — Chuckie Robinson hadn’t recorded a hit yet as a Dodger. As the third-string catcher, joining the major league squad midseason, his main focus had to be the defensive side. Anything on offense was a bonus.
Because of a rash of injuries, he was the only Dodgers catcher available Tuesday. And in the fourth inning, Robinson stepped up to the plate and lined a single into shallow left field, moving Alex Call to third, and setting up Shohei Ohtani for a sacrifice fly.
That’s how the Dodgers routed the Twins 12-3 on Tuesday, with contributions from up and down the lineup. And that’s how the Dodgers (51-29) have claimed the best record in the majors, despite injuries to key players.
“The depth,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said when asked what that record reflected. “We’ve got really good depth, we’ve got really good players, guys that care. Doesn’t matter what’s happening; we’ve got a lot of guys injured right now, and you’ve got guys stepping up, making big plays, big at-bats.”
Freeman himself went three for five with a pair of doubles and two RBIs on Tuesday. But Robinson, with starting catcher Will Smith still on the injured list with a neck injury and backup catcher Dalton Rushing temporarily unavailable after a concussion scare Monday, also had two hits and brought in a run with a sacrifice bunt.
Call, filling in for right fielder Kyle Tucker (back spasms) reached base four times, scored three runs and hit his first home run of the season.
“With the help of the coaches, I took steps towards being my best, and got a lot closer to that,” said Call, who grew up about 40 miles away, in Wisconsin. “It was fun to just have an Alex-Call branded game, for sure.”
Shohei Ohtani rounds third base to score on a single by Tommy Edman in the first inning.
(Matt Krohn / Associated Press)
“That’s why you play the game,” said Robinson, who has been in the Dodgers’ organization for parts of the last two seasons. “When you’re in triple A, you stay ready, and my number was called. And me as a catcher, I just want to come into the situation as seamless as possible, first and foremost, take care of the pitching staff and make sure those guys are good, and I’m there for them. And then you know just try to contribute offensively as much as I can.”
The Dodgers will continue to lean on Robinson and Call. Though Rushing is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday, Smith did not travel with the team. And Tucker will likely be sidelined until Friday at the earliest.
Rain pushed back Tuesday’s first pitch by 28 minutes. And the Twins pitched a bullpen game, after pushing back right-hander Joe Ryan’s start a day for illness.
And against that churn of relievers, the Dodgers had 17 hits, 11 off right-hander Austin Voth.
“I thought tonight there was a presence for each guy in the batter’s box,” manager Dave Roberts said. “There was some intent behind their at-bats. You can see those guys were being careful with our guys. I just like we were being more proactive. A lot of good at-bats, some slug in there, some timely hitting. All the above, really. As good of an offensive outing as we’ve had in quite some time.”
Utility player Tommy Edman, who made his season debut last week after after spending the first two and a half months on the IL (right ankle surgery recovery), had his eighth hit in six games. The sharp grounder up the middle and off of second baseman Luke Keaschall’s glove drove in the Dodgers’ first run of the game.
And he played a role in the Dodgers’ second run although he wasn’t credited with an RBI. With a runner on second and two outs in the third inning, Edman hit a blooper to the right side of the infield. It landed in front of Keaschall as he charged and scooped up the ball on a bounce. But his flip to first base went between first baseman Royce Lewis and Voth, who had both run over to cover the bag. As the ball rolled away, Freeman jogged across the plate.
Then in the fourth inning, after Call scored on Ohtani’s sacrifice fly, three consecutive singles — from Andy Pages, Freeman and Mookie Betts — expanded the Dodgers’ lead to 4-2. Freeman tacked on another run in the sixth with an RBI double down the right-field line. And in the seventh, Robinson’s safety squeeze accounted for the Dodgers’ seventh run of the game.
The Dodgers ran up the score in the ninth inning with a five-run rally that included Call’s solo homer, and doubles from Miguel Rojas and Max Muncy.
“It was a beautiful thing to watch,” Call said. “We were firing on all cylinders, guys were taking just tremendous at-bats.”
For Call specifically, a conversation with hitting coaches Aaron Bates and Robert Van Scoyoc on Monday helped him return to his identity as a hitter — someone who grinds out at-bats and works deep counts.
On the other side, the Dodgers only had to use three pitchers, thanks to starter Justin Wrobleski’s seven-inning effort.
He wavered only in the second and third innings, surrendering a home run to switch-hitter Victor Caratini and then giving up three straight hits after Betts’ fielding error. But Wrobleski limited the Twins to two runs.
“We talk every inning, and you see what’s working, what’s not working,” Robinson said. “And then sometimes you have to pivot, and that’s what we did today.”
The second and third time through the order, Wrobleski explained, they adjusted his pitch mix to keep the Twins off balance. And that allowed him to pitch deep into the game.
In the eighth, right-handed reliever Edgardo Henriquez took over and threw a clean inning. Then right-hander Brock Stewart made his first appearance since being reinstated from the IL (left foot bone spur) on Monday. Stewart surrendered a solo homer to Brooks Lee before getting out of the ninth.
“What a great day overall, just from start to finish,” Call said. “Long one, but pretty special one I’ll remember for a while.”
Update on Tucker and Rushing
Roberts is planning for right fielder Tucker to be out for the rest of the series, after he left Monday’s game with low back spasms.
Roberts hopes to write Tucker into the lineup Friday, when the Dodgers open a three-game series in San Diego, after three days off, plus most of the game Monday.
“Hopefully he [can take] advantage of this, obviously to get right, but also kind of a mental reset,” Roberts said. “Hopefully the four days will suffice.”
Tucker, who said he felt a little better Tuesday but still sore, especially when rotating, is “pretty confident” that he’ll be able to avoid the injured list. And if he can take swings on Wednesday, he’ll probably be on track for that Friday return.
“But if he doesn’t, then we’ll have probably a tougher decision on Friday,” Roberts said.
Tucker, who has a .707 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage this season, has had a slow offensive start to his Dodgers’ tenure. He wasn’t ready to make any declarations about the potential benefits of time off to reset.
“Maybe,” he said. “We’ll see after I get back. We’ll see how that goes.”
The news on Rushing, who exited Monday’s game to rule out a concussion, was more straightforward.
Rushing hadn’t yet gone through the second round of concussion testing needed to clear him to play when Roberts addressed the media Tuesday afternoon. But Rushing had told Roberts he was ready to play.
“That doesn’t carry too much weight until I hear from the medical staff,” Roberts said. “But it is good to know that he said he’s good to go. My hope is that he’ll be available off the bench in some capacity.”