The Colorado Rockies, now 40-106, should certainly be glad that their 2025 slate with the Dodgers is over. After being shut out on Wednesday, the Rockies were outscored 18-3 in the three-game series and dropped the season matchup 11-2. Blake Snell held Colorado’s bats silent, continuing his dominance over the Rockies. Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ deadline day acquisition, who found out only 15 minutes before the first pitch that he’d be catching, took charge and contributed to their win on back-to-back nights.

Ben Rortvedt stepped in after Will Smith’s right hand began to swell during warmups. Kyle Freeland got Rortvedt to ground out for the second out of the inning, but Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts followed with RBI hits that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 4-0.

Even though Rortvedt doesn’t provide much in the way of offense, he still excels at game-calling, which is exactly what his $136.5 million teammate Tyler Glasnow admires about him. Rortvedt’s Tuesday outing in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win was even more spectacular. Glasnow, who allowed one run on two walks while racking up 11 strikeouts in seven hitless innings, was glad that Roberts inserted Rortvedt in the lineup. It worked perfectly for him. “[Rortvedt] is super engaging. I think he takes his catching, obviously, very seriously. He’s always been known for his glove and his pitch calling… He fits in well… First inning, we had some pitch calling and some setup stuff, and as the game went on, we got into a really good flow. We were on the same page the whole time… He was kinda awesome,” he said.

Apparently, Rortvedt had started shifting to the righties with the sinker to try to get me more on line. That helped Glasnow to get his slider back on. “My four-seamer sucked the whole game. But he navigated me back into the zone really well.” He added while addressing Tuesday’s 3-1 win.

Rortvedt worked well with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, too, during a strong game over the weekend. Across last week, he appeared in five games, out of which he started three behind the plate and played a role in two almost no-hitters.

How’s it been for Ben Rortvedt since the Dodgers prompted him

When the Dodgers traded for Ben Rortvedt at the deadline, he was just meant to be nothing more than emergency depth. Maybe a Triple-A catcher who might never actually see the field. Now, just a few weeks later, Rortvedt has been established as one of the most crucial pieces of the lineup. He’s earning praises from manager and teammates alike.

It wasn’t always like this, though. His first impression wasn’t as good, thanks to Roberts. Some days ago, on September 4th, Roberts put him in to replace Rushing and catch late in a 5-0 game, assuming the No. 9 hitter wouldn’t get another turn at the plate.

However, the Dodgers scored three runs in the ninth inning. Rortvedt ended up batting in a key spot. He struck out and left a runner on base, which apparently annoyed fans a little bit. Rortvedt’s batting average is not noteworthy as of now. He’s been hitting .222 with a .586 OPS in 10 at-bats. It is not that alarming because he has always been a light hitter with a career average below .200.

However, his defense has been elite. He had also helped Blake Treinen bounce back with a spotless eighth inning behind Taylor Glasnow. His sharpness at working with elite pitchers has now started to impress everybody in the Dodgers crew and fans.