LOS ANGELES — The waiting was the hardest part. But facing major-league pitching isn’t easy either.
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After seven minor-league seasons, Ryan Ward finally made his big-league debut in April. That cameo lasted just two games, though, while Freddie Freeman was out on paternity leave.
Ward got the call again after Teoscar Hernandez suffered a hamstring injury in late May. Since then, the Dodgers have limited the left-handed hitting Ward almost exclusively to facing right-handed pitching (he has just three at-bats against left-handers).
He has done well enough to hit .256 (11 for 43) overall. But seven of those hits have been for extra bases (four doubles, three triples) and he has driven in 11 runs in 15 games.
“Getting more comfortable. The butterflies have started to calm down,” Ward said of his extended run at the big-league level. “I have my own routine that I know now. Just more settled, for sure. … Those butterflies kind of go away. You start to feel more comfortable in the box, more comfortable on the bases, more comfortable in the field, stuff like that. Just trying to keep that feeling and keep riding it.”
Ward has also seen firsthand now how different the pitching is between Triple-A and the majors.
“It’s a lot better,” he said with a laugh. “A lot of guys, they have their plan and they can execute their plan over and over and over. Where in Triple-A, you get an idea of what they’re trying to do but there’s more mistakes. There’s not many here. You miss a mistake here, now you’ve got to battle.”
Ward’s second promotion has allowed him time to make the transition from just being happy to be here to starting to believe he belongs.
“Just having good at-bats over and over,” he said of what he’s learned he needs to do. “Trying not to throw away at-bats or get myself out on pitches or go to places that they want me to go to not places I want to go to zone-wise, pitch selection-wise.”
After a Pacific Coast League MVP season last year, Ward was a known commodity at the Triple-A level. Whether he sticks with the Dodgers beyond Hernandez’s return, by establishing that he can produce at the big-league level Ward might have made himself more attractive to other teams as the trade deadline approaches.
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“I like him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ward. “There’s a willing player. There’s a skill set of some power. He’s defended fine in left field. He grinds at-bats. Certainly there’s some swing-and-miss in there which we’ve known.
“But for a young player, his first time on this stage, he’s more than holding his own. Even with the move with Espy (Santiago Espinal) the other day, part of the reason for (Ward) staying here is because he’s performed. He carries himself really well. He’s good on the team. It’s just good for the Dodgers to give a guy like him an opportunity. He’s earned it.”
HEALTH CARES
Will Smith went through full workout Tuesday and “came in this morning in a good spot,” according to Roberts. But Smith is “unlikely” to come off the injured list when he is eligible Friday.
“I don’t want to put a date on when he’s going to play, but each day he’s feeling better,” Roberts said.
“We’re just trying to get him to a place where he doesn’t regress with it once he comes back. So I guess he’s not out of the woods yet.”
Meanwhile, Hernandez has started taking batting practice and will go through a simulated game as part of his workout on the off day Thursday. Roberts said Hernandez is on track to start a minor-league rehabilitation assignment early next week.
Hernandez has been out since May 27 with a hamstring injury.
EDMAN PLAN
Tommy Edman made his season debut Wednesday, starting at third base and batting leadoff with Shohei Ohtani limited to pitching only. Edman is likely to get playing time at second base, third and left field. There is no need for him in center field, a position he played frequently for the Dodgers in 2024 and 2025.
“I think when we acquired him, Andy (Pages) was cutting his teeth,” Roberts said. “Now Andy is on the cusp of making his first All-Star team. He’s an everyday player. He’s built to play every day. That’s kind of the reason behind it.”
UP NEXT
The Dodgers are off Thursday.
Orioles (TBA) at Dodgers (RHP Roki Sasaki, 3-4, 4.76 ERA), 7:10 p.m. Friday, SportsNet LA, 570 AM
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