How Dalton Rushing and the Supporting Cast Are Helping Keep the Dodger Machine Humming

The Dodgers’ backup catcher moonlighted as their designated hitter for a game on Thursday, doing his best Shohei Ohtani impression by smashing a 412-foot grand slam to help sweep the Mets. Another time, he was their first baseman, filling in while Freddie Freeman was on the paternity list and launching two more home runs. Dalton Rushing has only played in nine of the Dodgers’ first 23 games this year, but he has turned those intermittent opportunities into a historic start to the season. Rushing went deep seven times through his first eight games of the year, a number that trailed only Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt (1976) for the most home runs through a player’s first eight games of a season. He’s one of many examples of the depth allowing the Dodgers to withstand the early-season obstacles that would otherwise overwhelm most clubs. Mookie Betts hasn’t played since April 4 due to an oblique injury. Blake Snell and Tommy Edman aren’t expected to make their 2026 debuts until next month. Edwin Diaz, seven appearances into a three-year, $69 million contract that gave him the largest annual salary ever for a reliever, has an ERA over 10.00 and is undergoing an elbow procedure that will keep him out until the second half. Kyle Tucker, fresh off signing the largest average annual deal in baseball history, has been a league-average hitter. Roki Sasaki’s command and control issues persist. And yet the Dodgers enter Wednesday with a 16-7 record, tied for the best in MLB. Of course, Ohtani’s two-way skills tend to mask some of the team’s deficiencies. But the supporting cast is also playing a vital role in the club’s success. The Dodgers’ No. 7-9 hitters in the lineup have a combined .943 OPS this year, a total higher than Mike Trout (.939), Aaron Judge (.932) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.927). Outfielder Andy Pages leads the majors with a .366 batting average and the Dodgers with a 1.009 OPS. Hyeseong Kim and Miguel Rojas, the shortstops with Betts out, are both hitting over .300. Justin Wrobleski, the Dodgers’ sixth starter, is 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA in three starts this month. In the bullpen, Tanner Scott is bouncing back from an abysmal first season in Los Angeles. He has allowed one run through his first 11 appearances in 2026, while Alex Vesia still hasn’t allowed a run through his first 10 appearances. Those two will be crucial now in high leverage with Díaz down. And then there’s Rushing, who has the same number of extra-base hits in 31 plate appearances this year (nine) that he had in 155 plate appearances last year. His seven home runs are tied for the 12th-most in MLB. Every other player with at least that many homers this year has at least 69 at-bats; Rushing has 29. "I think he’s kind of in a better spot mentally — actually, I know he’s in a better spot mentally —  to kind of handle this role," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told me. After struggling in his first season to adjust to the sporadic playing time that exists as the backup catcher behind fellow University of Louisville product Will Smith, who’s under contract through the 2033 season, Rushing entered his follow-up campaign this year with a new perspective: Less is more. "Go back and look at last year." Rushing told me last week, six days after a 4-for-4, two-homer performance in Toronto and three days before launching the first grand slam of his career. "I was over-swinging from the day I showed up. I felt like I had to show them who I was." The result was suboptimal. Rushing, who excelled as a hitter at every level of the minors with a preternatural and atypical ability to both control the zone and slug, had a .582 OPS and just nine extra-base hits in 142 at-bats for the Dodgers last season. "I would say he didn’t get used to it last year," Roberts said. "He’s getting used to it now. I think there’s a little bit of trying to mentally adjust to playing two times a week. There’s a physical, mechanical part to the swing, to make it more simple. Maybe even a little bit of expectation, to lower your expectations. And the player never wants to, which I respect, but it’s hard to play twice a week to get in any type of real rhythm." Added Rushing: "When you’re a part-time player you try to get back in compete mode once every five days, it’s not easy to do." Admittedly, he’s still in the process of figuring out how to handle that, though he’s clearly doing a better job. With a new mindset, Rushing is displaying the version of the player he knew he could be — and the one the Dodgers envisioned when they took Rushing with their first pick of the 2022 MLB Draft, despite already employing another star catcher from the same alma mater. Rushing has learned to challenge himself to be ready to play, even on the days he’s not in the starting lineup, spending time hitting on either the Trajekt machine or the regular pitching machine to be ready when called upon. And he has learned from the player he’s backing up, despite possessing a much different demeanor from the fellow Louisville product. Smith is stoic and reserved; Rushing is not. "It’s hard for me to play this game low heartbeat," Rushing said. "I’ve played like my head’s on fire since I was 8 or 10 years old. I don’t think I’m ever going to lose that. I don’t want to lose that. I think that’s what kind of gets me up to play this game." At the same time, while that feistiness can drive him while he’s riding hot streaks like the one he’s on right now, it can also be detrimental when the inevitable drop-off comes. He admires Smith’s levelheadedness and the belief that demeanor can foster in teammates. "I think the more you can play at a median, low heartbeat, the more it shows to the older guys, ‘This guy looks like he’s been doing it for seven to 10 years, and there’s never a doubt he’s going to get it done,’" Rushing said. So, he’s still working on that. "That’s part of being an everyday guy," Rushing explained. "You need the median heartbeat, man. Nothing brings you up, nothing brings you down. Throughout this year, that’s going to be my goal. I know if I keep that as my goal, then the hitting and everything else will take care of itself. It always has." There are nine players with more at-bats than Rushing on the Dodgers roster, yet he ranks second on the team in homers and fourth in RBI. With more success, the Dodgers are finding creative ways to get him opportunities, even beyond giving Smith a breather behind the plate. After Ohtani was hit by a pitch in the back of the right shoulder in the first game of the Dodgers’ series against the Mets last week, the Dodgers elected to keep their two-way superstar out of the DH spot two days later. It was the first time since 2021 that Ohtani pitched but did not hit in a game. The DH role went to Rushing, who doubled and broke the game open with a grand slam. "There’s no more trying to show them," Rushing said. "Just let your game play for itself."