Smith went 1-for-2 with two walks, a two-run home run and a sacrifice fly in Thursday's 9-5 win over the Blue Jays.
Smith clobbered his sixth home run of the season in the fifth inning off Kevin Gausman before extending the Diamondbacks' lead in in the sixth on a sac fly. Smith's .274 batting average this year would be a career best, but he has struggled at the plate in June with a .194/.381/.387 slash line, one steal, two home runs, five RBI and a 31.0 percent strikeout rate in 42 plate appearances this month.
Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
Arizona is facing a left-handed starting pitcher (Eric Lauer) for the first time since June 6, so Smith will retreat to the bench along with fellow left-handed-hitting regular Alek Thomas. Randal Grichuk will step in at designated hitter in place of Smith, who hit .200 with one home run and two RBI while starting each of the last nine games.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Hitting above xBA
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Smith went 1-for-3 with an RBI in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to Toronto.
Smith put Arizona on the board with a two-out, run-scoring single in the fourth inning. He's been largely unproductive since the middle of April, as the lefty hitter is batting .210 (25-for-119) with just nine RBI over the last 44 contests dating back to April 23. By the grace of a .406 BABIP, Smith has managed to bat .271 for the season, far outpacing a .223 expected batting average.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Snaps homer drought
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Smith went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-2 win over Seattle.
Smith finished off the Diamondbacks' five-run sixth inning with his fifth homer of the season. It was the first round-tripper in 40 games (since April 22) for Smith, who incidentally is slashing .213/.336/.296 over 128 plate appearances since his last home run. He still maintains a .277 batting average thanks to a .402 BABIP, but Statcast pegs his expected batting average to be .225.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Delivers two runs in loss
Rotowire
Smith started at first base and went 1-for-3 with a walk, a triple, two RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 11-7 loss to Washington.
Smith plated two runs with a triple as part of Arizona's five-run sixth inning that made a potential blowout somewhat interesting. It was the second straight game with multiple RBI for Smith, who has knocked in five over the last five contests. He has just 16 RBI through 53 games after driving in 36 over 60 games a season ago.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Delivers run in loss
Rotowire
Smith went 2-for-3 with an RBI in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Cardinals.
Smith gave Arizona a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning when he singled in a run. The RBI was his third over the last 27 games, a stretch during which Smith has just three extra-base hits, batted .227 (17-for-75) and struck out at a 30.7 percent clip. As the strongside of a platoon at DH, he has a respectable .301 batting average and an .892 OPS, but there's very little heft to it. Smith, who spent a good portion of the season batting third, has just 12 RBI and can thank an outrageous BABIP (.439) for what Statcast estimates to be a .229 expected batting average.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Racks up three hits in win
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Smith went 3-for-4 with an RBI double in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Dodgers.
Smith was the only player to have a multi-hit effort in this contest. He's 4-for-7 over his last two games, but prior to that, he went 0-for-17 across the previous eight contests. The 29-year-old is up to a .302/.442/.531 slash line, four home runs, 10 RBI, 19 runs scored, 10 doubles and a stolen base over 120 plate appearances. Smith is in a strong-side platoon role, primarily as a designated hitter with a little time at first base this year.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Out against left-hander
Rotowire
Smith is not in the lineup for Friday's game in Philadelphia.
It's southpaw Jesus Luzardo on the hill for the Phillies, so the left-handed-hitting Smith will begin the festivities on the bench. Randal Grichuk is in the designated hitter spot and batting third in the series opener.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Starts against southpaw
Rotowire
Smith started at first base and went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Tuesday's 8-3 loss to the Mets.
The lefty-hitting Smith got a rare start against a left-hander, stepping in for Josh Naylor (another lefty), who received his first day off of the season. Smith was 1-for-2 against starter David Peterson, and then walked and singled against right-handed relievers. A .226 career hitter against southpaws, Smith has just seven plate appearances against them this season, going 1-for-5 with two walks.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Getting breather against LHP
Rotowire
Smith isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against Atlanta, Jody Jackson of Bally Sports Arizona reports.
The lefty-hitting Smith will stay put in the D-backs' dugout while left-hander Chris Sale toes the slab for Atlanta. Randal Grichuk will enter the lineup as Arizona's DH and bat third.
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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: Joins the homer party
Rotowire
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: Out against lefty Saturday
Rotowire
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
Rotowire
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: 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: Makes first start
Rotowire
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: Ready to go Sunday
Rotowire
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: Homers off bench
Rotowire
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: Rough night in field
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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.
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Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Losing work to Gurriel
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Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.
On the bench for a second straight matchup with a right-handed pitcher, Smith looks to have moved back into a reserve role after having occupied a strong-side platoon role in left field for much of the previous two weeks. Smith's playing time will likely be more sparse moving forward now that top left fielder Lourdes Gurriel is healthy again after missing time with a calf strain.
