Dalton Rushing cleared his head and emptied the bases in Dodgers’ walk-off over Orioles

LOS ANGELES — After the first strikeout, Dalton Rushing was steamed.

Batting in the bottom of the third with one out and the bases loaded, the Dodgers’ backup catcher swung through three straight breaking balls low and out of the zone from Baltimore Orioles starter Trey Gibson. Rushing retreated to the bench, shaking his head as he descended the dugout steps and threw his bat down in disgust.

The vexation grew after the second strikeout. With two outs in the fifth, Gibson whiffed Rushing on a slider nearly identical to what had punched him out in the first strikeout. Rushing’s reaction was nearly identical.

As for the third strikeout? Rushing worked a favorable 3-1 count off Tyler Wells to lead off the bottom of the eighth, but chased two straight high cutters. He had some choice words for himself, as picked up by the field mic, then returned to the dugout where he promptly snapped his bat over his knee.

When Rushing came to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, with the game-tying run on second and the game-winning run on first, he knew the only chance he had to salvage his night was clearing his head and starting fresh — much easier said than done. Rushing fell into an 0-2 hole against Orioles closer Ryan Helsley, putting the Dodgers a strike shy of a bitter loss.

Instead, Rushing went from hat trick to hero. His game-tying single, combined with a critical defensive miscue from the Orioles, propelled the Dodgers to a 6-5 walk-off win Friday night, the fourth-straight one-run victory for Los Angeles. It was also a key moment for the Dodgers’ 25-year-old backstop, who is learning how to manage his emotions.

BIG TIME RUSH. pic.twitter.com/PwHV8L0dDh

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 20, 2026

“A lack of (approach) throughout the night,” Rushing said postgame. “Luckily, pulled a heater inside, caught it in the loop, and Dodgers win. So it’s a great night. Great way to end the night. Especially after the frustration early.”

As Rushing adjusts to his first full season in the major leagues, he’s weathered his fair share of growing pains. He’s passionate by nature, and while many of his on-field antics have led to the types of viral moments the Dodgers would prefer to avoid, the club has never questioned his care or commitment. Neither have his teammates. At a time when Rushing needed support, they made sure to bring it.

After Rushing fell behind to Helsley, he stepped out of the box, took a deep breath and looked down the third-base line. He first locked eyes with Mookie Betts, who had homered earlier in the inning. Betts was up on the rail and yelling words of encouragement. He saw his teammates standing in anticipation, knowing they were one swing away from pulling off another improbable comeback and that they believed he would come through.

“I think in that moment, in particular, looking in the dugout and seeing all the guys that are up on their feet. They want to see you have that moment,” Rushing said. “And I think that’s pretty cool. I think that’s pretty special.”

Rushing laid off Helsley’s next pitch, a high slider that just missed the top of the zone. When the two-time All-Star closer tried to blow a fastball past Rushing, he yanked it to right field. Off the bat, and with pinch runner Alex Call on second running on contact, it appeared to be a game-tying single. Instead, bedlam ensued.

Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo couldn’t come up with Tyler O’Neill’s throw home. It bounced in front of Basallo, who whiffed on the hop, and the ball squirted away. Ryan Ward, who never stopped running from first base, crossed home plate without a slide.

The stadium erupted and the Dodgers poured onto the field, mobbing Rushing at second base. Finally, Rushing smiled.

Dalton knows BAL. pic.twitter.com/TNFvyqJyhb

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 20, 2026

As he and the Dodgers work to temper his frustrations throughout the game, Rushing would be the first to say those efforts are a work in progress. He’s taken advantage of more playing time with Will Smith (neck pain) on the injured list, and made improvements in quickly channeling his emotions.

“It might not show it that after he vents, he does a good job of collecting himself to get back into the next play, the next at-bat, catching,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think his growth needs to be the adjustments in-game, and they need to be sooner. That’s a lot of times with young players. Swinging at balls out of the strike zone because you want to do too much and letting the game come to you, and that’s not an emotional thing, that’s just kind of trying to slow the game down.”

Until that point Friday, the Dodgers hadn’t slowed the game down. They did not play a clean ball game. They struck out 13 times and left 12 runners on base, with Roberts calling the at-bats in the third inning (when Los Angeles stranded the bases loaded with no outs) “very forgettable” and lamenting that his club did not produce more early on in the contest.

“Tonight shouldn’t have been a game, in my opinion,” Roberts said. “We kept them around.”

Rushing, despite his late-inning heroics, was also perturbed by his night — and his overall play lately.

“Obviously hasn’t been my best baseball over the last month,” he said. “It’s been frustrating at times. But at the same time, I do think that I’ve had some stretches where I’m putting together good at-bats, and really that’s all we can ask for in this game. You’re going to hit a lot of baseballs hard and get out, you’re going to go up to the plate sometimes and not really know what’s going on. And (you) just have to find a way, help the team win, do the little things. Tonight, like I said, luckily it worked out.”

But that’s all part of the process for Rushing, who is maturing into the type of player the Dodgers believe he can be. His game-winning at-bat Friday night should help in that regard.

“You strike out three times … you’re frustrated, you’re trying to stay in the game, calling games. And then the game’s on the line, and it’s your spot,” Roberts said. “So for him to flush it all and to flip his entire game and help us win a ballgame was huge.”