Smith's epic career game was 'pretty cool'

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PHOENIX -- Over the past few years, whenever Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen or manager Torey Lovullo were asked about infielder/outfielder Pavin Smith, there was a phrase they both would use:

"Pavin can hit."

Sunday night in front of a national audience on ESPN, Pavin hit ...

And hit ...

And hit.

The 24-year-old hit three homers and drove in eight runs against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, putting on a display in what will go down in Arizona history as "The Pavin Smith Game."

It's a game, Smith said, that he will remember forever.

"It makes it sweeter that we got the win, and it was also off one of the guys I watched while growing up, Justin Verlander," Smith said.

Smith's three-run homer in the second and his grand slam in the third both came off Verlander.

"Obviously, he's [a potential] future Hall of Famer, and I faced him before and didn't do too hot off him," Smith said. "So being able to barrel up that first ball gave me confidence going into the next at-bats."

Smith's third at-bat in the fifth inning came off Kaleb Ort, and it was a solo homer to right.

"I think after the third one, it was just like, 'Something's going on here and I don't know what it is,'" Smith said. "A lot of things have to kind of go your way to hit a home run. You've got to get the pitch and you got to be on time for it, and to have it happen three times in one game? It's pretty cool."

That left Smith with two more at-bats in the game to hit a fourth homer. And with the D-backs winning by a comfortable margin, he went for it.

"I knew I had two more at-bats to try to hit a fourth one," Smith said. "Obviously [I] didn't get it done, but it was ... I definitely tried."

Smith struck out swinging in the seventh, and then in the ninth, he had to face Astros closer Josh Hader, who is a tough at-bat for a left-hander.

Smith wound up walking, and when he got to first base, he joked with Astros first-base coach Dave Clark.

"I was like, 'You guys really have to bring in Hader in the ninth down seven because you don't want me to hit a homer that bad?'" Smith said.

It was an amazing night for a player who has not had the easiest of years.

Smith was optioned to Triple-A Reno on March 22, with a week to go in Spring Training. He was then called up on April 19, before getting sent back to Reno on June 10. Smith was called back up on July 30 for just two days, before being recalled again on Aug. 19 after another 18 days in Triple-A.

"I think I've just taken the approach that I'm where I'm supposed to be," Smith said of the up-and-down transactions. "And just playing baseball wherever I am, just having fun playing it. You know, when you get sent down and you're not playing well, I think it's more of a scramble to try to figure it out, and that's when I get down on myself. But when you get sent down and you're playing well, there's really nothing I could do, so I just kept going on."