Dominic Smith Hit a Walk-Off Grand Slam in His Debut and Now the Braves Can't Bench Him

Here's the thing about second chances in baseball: sometimes a guy signs a minor league deal in mid-February thinking he'll ride the bench, and then he becomes a problem you have to figure out how to play every single day. That's exactly what's happening with Dominic Smith and the Atlanta Braves right now.

Smith made history last Saturday by hitting a walk-off grand slam in a 6-2 win against Kansas City in his team debut, which is literally the first time any player has ever ended a game that way in their Braves debut. Think about that. The odds of pulling that off are absurd. But Smith wasn't done making noise. In Thursday's series opener against Arizona, he homered again and scored twice as Atlanta absolutely demolished the Diamondbacks 17-2 in Phoenix. That 17-run performance is the most the Braves have ever scored in Arizona, eclipsing a 14-0 shutout from July 29, 2007.

The Suspension Opened the Door, But Smith Has Been Kicking It Down

Here's the setup: Smith signed as a minor league deal because Matt Olson owns first base for the Braves and hasn't missed a game in over four seasons. Problem solved, right? Except Jurickson Profar got hit with a season-long suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs for the second time, which suddenly created a ton of at-bats at designated hitter. Smith walked through that door like he owned the place.

Through five appearances, he's batting .375 with two homers and five RBIs. He's taken four starts at DH and one in the outfield. Braves manager Walt Weiss put it perfectly after Thursday's blowout: "Dom is taking advantage of the opportunity and we always talk about him giving a professional at-bat. He's showing off some power too." This is Smith's sixth team and fifth in four seasons, so he knows how to capitalize when opportunity knocks.

The Braves Are Rolling, and Smith Is Just the Beginning

Thursday's win was Atlanta's fifth in their last seven games, and it wasn't just Smith carrying the load. Matt Olson went 3-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, three RBIs and three runs. Mauricio Dubon and Jorge Mateo also went yard. The Diamondbacks couldn't handle it, especially when Arizona allowed eight runs in the fifth inning alone. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo wasn't mincing words: "It's about execution, that's the bottom line. If you don't execute, you're going to have games like this."

Arizona did get some good news on the injury front. Jordan Lawlar, who hit his first career homer in the game, was hit by a pitch on his right wrist in the seventh but X-rays came back negative. He'll get a CT scan on Friday.

The series continues Friday night in Phoenix. Eduardo Rodriguez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) takes the mound for Arizona against Grant Holmes (0-1, 5.40) for Atlanta. This one feels like it could get ugly fast if the Braves stay hot.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.