Smith went 2-for-3 with two walks, a double, a homer, two RBI and a stolen base during Thursday's 6-4 win against the Marlins.
It was the third straight two-hit performance for Smith and his second consecutive game with a home run. The 29-year-old has yet to make a start against a left-handed pitcher this season, but he's batted in the heart of the lineup every time Arizona has faced a righty and has a .404/.491/.745 slash line with seven doubles, three long balls, seven RBI and 10 runs through 18 games.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Belts solo homer
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Smith went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-2 win over Miami.
Smith extended Arizona's lead to two runs in the sixth inning, when he took Max Meyer deep to center field for a 429-foot solo home run. It was Smith's second homer of the year, and he's begun the season slashing .386/.460/.659 with nine runs and five RBI in 50 plate appearances while filling the strong side of a platoon at designated hitter.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Taking seat against lefty
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Smith isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against Milwaukee.
Smith has been white-hot to start the season, slashing .400/.486/.667 through his first 35 plate appearances, but the D-backs won't risk him cooling down against the left-handed Jose Quintana on Friday. Randal Grichuk will serve as the team's DH instead and bat third.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Joins the homer party
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Smith started at first base and went 3-for-5 with a double, a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 9-0 win over the Orioles.
Smith was one of four members of the Diamondbacks that went deep in the win. His two-run shot in the fifth inning, his first homer of the season, was the first of back-to-back homers. The Diamondbacks are finally seeing a string of right-handed starters, which has given Smith starts in four consecutive games. During that stretch, the lefty hitter is 7-for-13 with three extra-base hits, three RBI and four runs scored.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Collects two hits Sunday
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Smith started at designated hitter and went 2-for-3 with an RBI in Sunday's 5-4 loss to Washington.
Smith knocked in a run with a single in the fifth inning, his second RBI in nine games. This was his third start in the last four games, as the Diamondbacks have faced more right-handers recently. That wasn't the case to start the season, when opponents started more lefties than righties. Smith is in a strict platoon and has just one plate appearance against a southpaw.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Out against lefty Saturday
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Smith isn't in the lineup for Saturday's matchup against the Nationals.
Smith will take a seat with lefty Mitchell Parker starting on the mound for Washington. That's been a trend for Smith this season, as he's yet to be in the lineup against an opposing southpaw starter. Randal Grichuk will start at DH in Smith's stead Saturday.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Sitting out versus left-hander
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Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Yankees.
Left-hander Carlos Rodon is taking the hill for the Yankees, so the left-handed--hitting Smith will begin the contest on the bench. Randal Grichuk will start at designated hitter and bat cleanup for the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: On bench versus lefty
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Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.
The lefty-hitting Smith will take a seat for the second game in a row while the Cubs deploy another left-handed starter (Matthew Boyd). Ketel Marte will get a day out of the infield and will replace Smith as the Diamondbacks' designated hitter.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Makes first start
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Smith started at designated hitter and batted fifth in Friday's 8-1 win over the Cubs, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, one RBI and two runs scored.
Smith was on the bench for Thursday's season opener against a lefty but made his first start Friday with a righty on the mound. The lefty hitter is coming off an encouraging season in which he achieved career highs in slugging, hard-hit and barrel rates. Smith will be given the chance to hold down the strong side of a platoon at DH, while Randal Grichuk should be in the lineup against lefties.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Sitting versus LHP
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Smith isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game versus the Cubs.
Left-hander Shota Imanaga will toe the slab to begin Saturday's contest, so Smith and his career .600 OPS against lefties will remain on the bench. Randal Grichuk will serve as Arizona's designated hitter instead and bat fourth.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Idle against left-hander
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Smith isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, Aaron Hughes of SI.com reports.
Smith is expected to receive the bulk of starts at DH while working in a platoon with Randal Grichuk. However, a matchup against lefty Justin Steele on Thursday will keep Smith in the dugout while Grichuk enters the lineup and bats seventh.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Ready to go Sunday
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Smith (wrist) is starting at first base and batting cleanup in Sunday's split-squad game against the White Sox.
Smith departed Friday's contest due to a bruised right wrist but will rejoin the lineup just two days later. The 28-year-old is expected to begin the season operating as Arizona's primary designated hitter against right-handed pitching, with Randal Grichuk likely to handle the small side of the platoon.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Exits with bruised wrist
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Smith was removed from Friday's Cactus League game against Milwaukee with a right wrist contusion.
It's unclear how or when Smith bruised his wrist, but he was pinch hit for in the fourth inning after going 0-for-2 with a strikeout. His injury doesn't seem too serious, so he should still be ready to go for Opening Day.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Homers off bench
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Smith hit a solo home run and walked over two plate appearances in Friday's spring game against Cincinnati.
The Diamondbacks fielded what looked like a potential regular-season lineup Friday, but the lefty-hitting Smith did not start against a right-hander. Instead, manager Torey Lovullo had Jake McCarthy at designated hitter while Alek Thomas was in center field. To this point in spring training, it's widely been assumed that Smith would be the lefty component at DH against right-handers, and that McCarthy and Thomas were in a battle to start in center field. That still may be the case, and no conclusions should be drawn from this one spring contest. Smith has homered in two consecutive Cactus League games and is batting .259/.375/.856 through 32 plate appearances.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Platoon at DH expected
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Smith is expected to serve as left-handed bat in a platoon at designated hitter this season, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
Smith will fill the role occupied by Joc Pederson last season. With Pederson moving on in free agency, Smith is a logical choice to face righties, against whom he posted a .920 OPS over 135 plate appearances last season. He's bounced between the majors and minors the last few seasons, but Smith's second-half surge in 2024 reaffirmed manager Torey Lovullo's oft-stated belief that he can hit. The 29-year-old described a change in his mental approach, noting he was "not trying to beat the ball to spots," which translates to not trying to do too much with a pitch. Smith is not expected to see much time in the outfield but could get some opportunities at first base, where his defense is passable. His primary role, however, will be that of a strongside platoon at DH.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Settles with Arizona
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Smith signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Diamondbacks on Wednesday to avoid arbitration, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Smith's salary will more than double in 2025 after he slashed .270/.348/.547 with nine homers and 36 RBI over 158 plate appearances last season. With Joc Pederson now in Texas, Smith is likely to step in as Arizona's primary DH against right-handed starters, with occasional appearances at first base or in the outfield also possible.
Smith started in right field, went 0-for-4 and couldn't track down a couple of flyballs in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Padres.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo went with Smith's offensive potential -- he had six homers and a .310 batting average in September coming into the game -- over Jake McCarthy, a better defender with more range. The move backfired immediately when Smith couldn't track down leadoff batter Luis Arraez's flyball, opening the door to San Diego's four-run first inning. Smith later couldn't track down another fly from Arraez in the fourth that turned into a triple and the Padres' fifth run. The loss left the Diamondbacks outside the final wild-card spot with two games left and could lead to McCarthy replacing Smith on Saturday.
Smith went 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit three-run home run in Wednesday's win over the Giants.
Smith didn't enter the game until the bottom of the eighth when he was brought in to pinch hit for Randal Grichuk with two runners on. The outfielder then came through in a big way, launching a three-run home run off Spencer Bivens on the third pitch he saw to extend Arizona's lead to six runs. The long ball was Smith's ninth on the campaign and his sixth in the month of September, where he's batting .310 with 12 extra-base hits, 19 RBI and 13 runs scored.
