"It was back-and-forth all game"- Dodgers' Will Smith discusses team's extra-innings victory over Red Sox
Will Smith's walk-off single in the 11th inning helped the LA Dodgers defeat the Boston Red Sox in a nail-biting 7-6 victory. The to-and-fro game had both teams fighting till the end before the home team registered the second victory in the ongoing series at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
With the win, the Dodgers improved to 58-41, while the Red Sox dropped to 53-44. After the game, Smith talked about the game and his approach in the bottom of the 11th inning to Ken Rosenthal.
"Yeah, it was back and forth all game. That's a good team over there. They never gave up. We never gave up. It was a fun one to come out on top of," Smith said.
The game was tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 11th. Red Sox pitcher Greg Weissert started the innings, with Kike Hernandez being the automatic runner at second base. Cavan Biggio came in as a pinch hitter and was sacrificed to first, while Hernandez, the winning run, advanced to third.
Chris Taylor walked while the Red Sox intentionally walked off Shohei Ohtani. Then entered Will Smith, who singled in left field for a walk-off victory.
"Yeah, just trying to get a pitch to hit, get in the air. Got a head 2-0 and then, you know, hit a sinker at the middle and base hit. Walked him off," Smith added.
Will Smith considers victory "good sign" as Dodgers start second half of season with two straight clutch wins
Dodgers went into the All-Star break dropping two series, out of which one was swept by the Philadelphia Phillies and the other was against struggling Detroit Tigers.
However, they have entered the second half of the season with a bang, winning two straight clutch wins against the Red Sox. On Friday, Freddie Freeman's grand slam in the eighth saved the day and tonight it was Will Smith's walk-off single.
"Yeah, that was big. We needed some wins after, you know, that last week going into the break. So, coming out on top here the first two nights is a good sign for us," Smith told Rosenthal.
On Saturday, reliever Joe Kelly returned to the majors and pitched a scoreless inning. With the Dodgers battling various injuries to key stars, they got one back. Moreover, Clayton Kershaw is slated to throw his first pitch in the majors this season on Thursday.