Dodgers fans who complained about Ben Rortvedt are already looking like fools

Dodgers trade deadline acquisition Ben Rortvedt went from a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency Triple-A catcher to stopgap backup catcher to primary catcher in the span of five days. Dodgers fans probably forgot he ever came over to LA at the deadline at all.

Will Smith sustained a hand injury that sidelined him but didn't put him on the IL, so Rortvedt was promoted to back up Dalton Rushing. Rushing then hit the IL with a shin contusion a few days later, so Rortvedt found himself in the main role, with even more forgettable Triple-A catcher Chuckie Robinson behind him (Robinson didn't play and was sent back to the minors after two days).

During that time, Rortvedt was the man behind the plate for a brief stretch of some of the wildest games of the Dodgers' season. He, not Smith or Rushing, caught Yoshinobu Yamamoto's near-no-hitter against the Orioles. Two days later, he caught Tyler Glasnow's seven hitless innings and another near-no-hitter (combined, this time) against the Rockies.

While both were eventually broken up in the ninth, it's been an absolute whirlwind five days for Rortvedt, who Dodgers fans didn't even remember existed before he was called up (and then were furious when they saw his name penciled into the starting lineup).

Ben Rortvedt has called two near-no-hitters in the span of five days since Dodgers promoted him

It didn't help that Dave Roberts gave fans a pretty bad first impression of Rortvedt, when on Sept. 4 he threw him in to replace Rushing behind the plate in a 5-0 game, thinking that there was no way the Dodgers' No. 9 hitter would get another at-bat. But the Dodgers put up a three-run top of the ninth, and Rortvedt struck out to end the game and leave a runner stranded.

Rortvedt's offensive performance has been nothing to write home about — he's hitting .222 with a .586 OPS through 10 plate appearances — but that probably should've been expected from a guy with a sub-.200 career batting average. Clearly, his work behind the plate has been another story, as he managed to get Yamamoto, Glasnow, and Blake Treinen (who sort of redeemed himself after the Yamamoto fiasco by throwing a hitless eighth inning behind Glasnow) to the cusp of history.

Smith is expected to start on Tuesday, but Rortvedt will be up until further notice since Rushing is on the IL. He'll be little-to-no help at the plate, but behind it has already been a different story, and fans can't deny that.