Dodgers’ Backup Catcher Outscores Every All-Star In 14-2 World Series Rematch

A player who appeared in fewer than half of the Dodgers’ first 10 games went 4-for-4 with two home runs, outscoring Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and every other All-Star in the lineup combined.

A Perfect Night Nobody Saw Coming

Dalton Rushing stepped into Rogers Centre on Monday night as the Dodgers’ backup catcher, a glorified substitute, one rung below the brightest constellation of stars in Major League Baseball. When he stepped out, he had outshone all of them.

Rushing went a perfect 4-for-4 with two home runs, reached base in all five plate appearances, and scored three runs as the Los Angeles Dodgers demolished the Toronto Blue Jays 14-2 in the first World Series rematch since the Dodgers claimed back-to-back championships last November.

Five Homers, One Dominant Lineup and the Backup Led It All

It was Rushing’s first career four-hit game. The Dodgers’ offense, which had scored just 23 runs across its first six games of the season, erupted for 14 on Monday, and a 25-year-old who started only because Will Smith needed a night off was the catalyst.

The lineup behind him read like a Hall of Fame ballot: Ohtani went deep, Freeman went deep, Teoscar Hernandez went deep. The Dodgers launched five home runs as a team, scoring 45 runs over four road games, the most by any MLB team through its first four road games of a season since at least 1900, according to OptaSTATS. Yet by the final out, no one in the dugout had scored more often than the backup.

“Sadly, like I said on the field, it’s only downhill from here,” Rushing said with a laugh after the game. “But I’m gonna ride this wave as long as I possibly can.”

A Spot Start Turned Spotlight Moment

Rushing was only in the lineup because manager Dave Roberts wanted Smith, a three-time All-Star, rested and ready to catch Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s start on Tuesday. It was, by design, a low-stakes spot start. But Rushing made it impossible to overlook.

The previous evening, against the Washington Nationals, Rushing had also launched his first home run of the season during an 8-6 comeback win. Back-to-back starts, back-to-back fireworks. Through just three appearances in 2026, he is hitting .667 with three home runs, tied with Ohtani, Freeman, and Andy Pages for the Dodgers’ team lead, despite playing a fraction of their games.

First baseman Freddie Freeman, a former NL MVP and one of the game’s most respected voices, paused when asked about Rushing’s ability. “I don’t know if Dalton lacks confidence,” Freeman said. “That’s a beautiful asset. It really is. … To get results, it’s so hard not to play every day, have timing, have your swing.”

From a Rough Debut to a New Mindset

Rushing himself knows that the results are not accidental. After a rough MLB debut in 2025, when he hit just .204 across 53 games, struggling to find rhythm as a backup, he spent the offseason rebuilding both his swing mechanics and his mindset. The goal was to train himself to produce with fewer at-bats.

“Last year, mentally, I was in a tough spot playing the role that I was, just trying to figure out how you play that role,” Rushing said. “And this year, I have a little better understanding. You’re not going to show up and have a game like that every night. Maybe it was just a pill I had to swallow.”

Roberts Is Clear, But Rushing Is Making It Complicated

Roberts has been clear-eyed about the pecking order. “I plan on giving Will ample rest. But make no mistake who our starting catcher is,” Roberts said, referencing Smith. “I think this is a good year for Dalton to take a lot more at-bats, catch a lot more innings.”

Still, baseball has a way of complicating plans. The Dodgers are 8-2 to start the season, riding one of the hottest stretches in the franchise’s recent history. And a backup catcher, drafted in the second round out of the University of Louisville in 2022, once the organization’s top prospect, is making sure no one sleeps on him when he does get a chance to play.

On this night in Toronto, Dalton Rushing didn’t just fill in. He stole the show.