Will Smith has unlocked a new power.
Dad strength.
Smith, who welcomed in his third child alongside his wife, Cara, ahead of Wednesday night’s NLCS Game 3 matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers, showed off his newly found strength when the Dodgers needed it most.
Smith came up to the plate in the sixth inning, with the bases loaded after Brewers manager Pat Murphy made the questionable decision to leave right-handed pitcher Abner Uribe in the game, despite walking three of the four batters he faced in the inning.
The Dodgers catcher, who’s had his fair share of struggles in the postseason this year, needed to see only one pitch to capitalize on the moment after Uribe threw a 98.4 mph sinker in the middle of the strike zone.
Smith immediately launched the ball off the center field wall for a double and brought home Teoscar Hernandez and Kyle Tucker from third and second base, while Shohei Ohtani slid into third to make it a 2-1 lead for the Dodgers.
It was the first lead of the evening for Los Angeles, after they gave up a leadoff home run to Jackson Chourio on the opening pitch of the game.
After Smith’s double, the Brewers pulled Uribe from the game and brought in DL Hall.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made his fair share of strategic moves by having Max Muncy come off the bench to bat in place of Andy Pages after Tucker’s walk. He also went to another veteran by pulling Josue De Paula and having Kike Hernandez pinch-hit for him.
Hernandez went down swinging, while second baseman Tommy Edman went down looking.
