MINNEAPOLIS — A queue formed around Dalton Rushing. It had been one of the most frustrating half innings of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ season, and the young catcher was at the center of it. When the bottom of Wednesday’s cortisol-raising second inning was complete, Shohei Ohtani stomped to the dugout and down the tunnel, so Rushing followed. When Rushing returned to the bench, Freddie Freeman approached him.The veteran first baseman heard Rushing out. So did Brent Walker, who is on the Dodgers’ staff as a mental skills coach. Eventually, pitching coach Mark Prior joined in. Then manager Dave Roberts came and put his left arm around Rushing, spending most of the half inning trying to get the 25-year-old dialed back into the game still in progress.Rushing felt one thing.“It’s embarrassing that I need support like that,” Rushing said. “I’m a grown man. It’s a pretty tough pill to swallow, both sides of the ball. Not a great showing. It hasn’t been great as of late. I’m going to get better.”The cameras seem to find Rushing often in his first full season in the major leagues, especially when he’s catching the best player on the planet. The backstop lets his emotions be seen and heard. The Dodgers know this. They did not learn anything new about their 2022 first-round draft pick over the course of an eventual 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins.This was still a learning moment. This time, there was plenty of emotion to go around in the Dodgers dugout.
Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing struggles through ‘embarrassing’ inning, night at the plate
The frustration primarily centered on Rushing’s pitch calling for Shohei Ohtani during a miserable second inning.














