Smith scratched as hand injury flares up; status for next game uncertain

LOS ANGELES -- Minutes before first pitch, catcher Will Smith was scratched from the Dodgers' starting lineup due to a lingering bone bruise in his right hand in Wednesday night's eventual 9-0 win over the Rockies at Dodger Stadium.

Manager Dave Roberts said it is unclear whether Smith will play in the team's next game on Friday against the Giants in San Francisco, but the backstop is still expected to avoid the injured list.

As Smith was beginning to warm up, his right hand -- where he was struck by a foul tip one week ago in Pittsburgh -- began to swell up. With 15 minutes until game time, backup Ben Rortvedt was informed that he would be starting behind the plate -- and he guided the pitching staff through a shutout of the Rockies.

"It started to compromise [Smith] a little bit as he was getting loose. So we decided to just have him down today, potentially to pinch-hit if needed," Roberts said. "We gave Ben the call late and he really stepped up. Ben did a fantastic job, as he has every opportunity that he’s gotten."

Smith returned to the starting lineup on Tuesday after missing five games in the wake of sustaining the bone bruise. X-rays and a CT scan on Smith's hand were clean, leading the Dodgers to keep him on the active roster rather than placing him on the injured list.

While there is some hope that Smith will be ready to play on Friday following a team off-day, the Dodgers are prepared for the possibility that he'll need to sit out another game. Roberts said he should be fine to catch if something were to happen to Rortvedt, so there is no plan to bring up another catcher on the taxi squad.

"With the setback a little bit, we’ve got to make sure it doesn’t happen again," Roberts said. "I don’t want to say he’s not going to play Friday, but we’ve got to be pretty confident he can catch two out of three if he’s going to play on Friday."

While earlier imaging came back clean, there is a possibility that Smith will get an MRI on his hand on the off-day.

Roberts has acknowledged that Smith, who has been arguably the Dodgers' steadiest hitter this season, will likely have to manage the bone bruise in his hand for the rest of the regular season and beyond. The 30-year-old is batting .296 with a .901 OPS in 110 games.