Even Hollywood Would Pass: Will Smith Writes His Own Script in Dodgers Sweep

Some nights feel a little too on-the-nose, even by baseball standards.

It was Bobblehead night for Will Smith. It was also his 31st birthday. Manager Dave Roberts’ plan was to give him the night off. Smith disagreed, talked his way into the lineup, and a few hours later delivered the kind of moment that probably gets rejected for being unrealistic.

Down 0-2 in the count with two outs in the eighth inning, Smith turned around a fastball and sent it out to center for a go-ahead two-run homer, lifting the Dodgers to a 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks and completing a season-opening sweep.

If there’s a lesson here, it’s probably to stop trying to script anything involving this team.

Just before Smith’s swing, Mookie Betts authored one of the more important at-bats of the night. He worked a disciplined two-out walk to keep the inning alive — the kind of plate appearance that doesn’t show up in highlights but tends to decide games. Smith took care of the rest one pitch later.

The Dodgers had been playing from behind again — something that quietly became a theme of the series — after Arizona jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. But the response looked familiar: controlled, patient, and eventually decisive.

Freddie Freeman, moved down to the five spot, responded with three hits, including a run-scoring double that got the Dodgers on the board. For a hitter chasing consistency early, it looked like a necessary correction rather than a breakout.

Kyle Tucker continued to justify his arrival in more subtle ways. His defense in right field has already made an impression, and his home run–robbing catch was another reminder that his value extends well beyond the middle of the order.

On the pitching side, Tyler Glasnow gave the Dodgers six solid innings to keep things within reach, and the bullpen handled the rest. Alex Vesia and Will Klein bridged the late innings before Edwin Díaz closed it out with a clean ninth for his second save in as many nights.

Díaz’s presence already feels like a structural advantage. Games don’t just get shorter — they feel decided earlier.

The Dodgers are 3-0 to start the season. It’s too early to draw anything meaningful from that, but the way they’ve done it — falling behind, staying controlled, and waiting for the right swing — is at least familiar.

On this night, it just happened to come from the one player who wasn’t even supposed to be in the lineup.