I am legend: Will Smith homers off Will Smith
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Will Smith -- the one with Dodger blue on his jersey -- shrugged off the absurdity of it all.
¡°It¡¯s a common enough name,¡± Smith said late Friday night after hitting a go-ahead three-run homer off the Braves¡¯ Will Smith in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 12 | ATL 5, LAD 1 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 13 | ATL 8, LAD 7 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 14 | LAD 15, ATL 3 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 15 | ATL 10, LAD 2 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 16 | LAD 7, ATL 3 | Watch |
| Gm 6 | Oct. 17 | LAD 3, ATL 1 | Watch |
| Gm 7 | Oct. 18 | LAD 4, ATL 3 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: Smith had faced the other Smith before. He had gone to high school with a guy named Will Smith. He didn¡¯t see what all the fuss was about.
That fuss may have initially been about a common name, but it quickly became about an uncommon occurrence. The first batter-pitcher matchup between players with the same name in postseason history ended when the Dodgers¡¯ Smith homered, leading Los Angeles to a 7-3 win over the Braves and cutting Atlanta's NLCS lead to 3-2. The Dodgers will have a chance to even the series in Game 6 on Saturday.
¡°I¡¯ll always bet on our Will Smith,¡± Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
? Will Smith vs. Will Smith? Twitter had jokes
Roberts has little reason not to, considering Smith¡¯s status as one of the top young catchers in baseball. In his second season, Smith hit .289 with eight homers and a .980 OPS in 37 games, establishing himself as the Dodgers¡¯ starting backstop.
But that other Smith has been a standout reliever for nearly a decade, joining the Braves as a free agent last winter. He and Smith had squared off once before on Sept. 6, 2019, when the reliever Smith was with the Giants. The veteran left-hander notched a strikeout for the final out of a San Francisco victory, then predicted afterward that the rivalry was not complete.
¡°I'm sure we¡¯ll cross paths throughout our career a couple more times,¡± the elder Smith said. ¡°We¡¯ll see who wins the Will Smith battle at the end.¡±
On Friday, the victor was the younger Smith, who came to the plate after the Braves¡¯ Smith walked Max Muncy with two outs in the sixth inning. That created a right-on-left matchup of Smith vs. Smith, and a competitive one at that. Falling behind in the count, 0-2, the Dodgers' catcher took two fastballs and a slider inside to run the count full. The Braves¡¯ Smith went inside yet again with a fastball, but he left it out over the plate, allowing his namesake rival to swat it a Statcast-projected 404 feet over the left-field fence.
¡°He¡¯s a good hitter -- he¡¯s considered one of the best in the world, just like everybody in the lineup is,¡± Atlanta¡¯s Smith said. ¡°He put together a really good AB, took some really tough pitches and then put a good swing on a pitch inside and got the head to it and clipped me. Oh well.¡±
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Known for his reserved demeanor, the Dodgers¡¯ Smith grew unusually animated as he rounded the bases, screaming ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± while touching third. The Braves¡¯ Smith fixed his eyes on the ground, sighing deeply before returning to the pitching rubber.
¡°I was pumped up,¡± said the former. ¡°It got the team going. You look over to the dugout, they¡¯re all fired up. That energy bounces off of each other, so I was letting the emotion go and just enjoying the moment.¡±
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Given Major League Baseball¡¯s three-batter minimum rule for relievers -- and the fact that the Dodgers¡¯ Smith regularly hits between lefties Muncy and Cody Bellinger -- it¡¯s possible the two Smiths could see each other again this weekend. The Braves¡¯ Smith has allowed runs in consecutive games, but he remains an integral part of Atlanta¡¯s bullpen.
As for the younger Smith, he became the first player to homer off a pitcher with the same name since at least 1961. Most players to share names did not share eras, though some -- Chris Young and Chris Young, or multiple Luis Garcias, to give two modern examples -- have. Still, none of them have accomplished something quite like what the Dodgers¡¯ Smith did in Game 5.
¡°He¡¯s been huge for us all year,¡± Los Angeles outfielder Mookie Betts said. ¡°For him to come through in that spot, I¡¯m happy to see him expressing himself.¡±