Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith has not played since June 5 due to neck inflammation.

The Rays had a chance to silence Dodger Stadium and salvage another series in the ninth inning Wednesday afternoon. Trailing by a run, they loaded the bases with two outs against left-hander Alex Vesia before Cedric Mullins struck out.

In his second call-up after seven years in the minor leagues, the slugger is getting a better feel for what it takes to succeed at the major-league level.

It was a rough day at the office for Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday, by his standards. Which is enough to give him only the second-best ERA in baseball right now. Ohtani was already invisible in the official ERA race,

Shohei Ohtani was not as effective as usual on the mound during Wednesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, and he was seen with a bloody finger on his right pitching hand.

Freddie Freeman's two-run home run put the Dodgers ahead to stay and helped Shohei Ohtani collect another win despite the right-hander giving up four runs in the fifth inning.

This story was excerpted from Sonja Chen’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Freddie Freeman hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth inning and Shohei Ohtani pitched through a bloody blister to earn his seventh win as the Los Angeles Dodgers ​finished off a series sweep with a 5-4 victory over the visiting Tampa ‌Bay Rays on Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4, on June 17, 2026 at Dodger Stadium and The Sporting Tribune's Ric Tapia was there to capture the following images.