MIAMI -- Pavin Smith has been on a heater at the plate lately for the D-backs.
He accounted for one-third of the team¡¯s runs in its sweep-clinching 6-4 victory over the Marlins on Thursday afternoon at loanDepot park, hitting his second home run of the series in the first inning and an RBI double in the third.
It¡¯s been a breakout April for the Florida native, who was optioned to Triple-A Reno to begin both the 2023 and ¡®24 seasons. This year, he¡¯s been a mainstay in the heart of the D-backs¡¯ lineup, and by the looks of it, he¡¯ll be there to stay for the foreseeable future.
Smith cranked a Statcast-projected 429-foot homer over the center-field wall in Wednesday¡¯s 6-2 win over the Marlins, finishing the day 2-for-4 to bump his batting average to .386. He increased it to .404 Thursday thanks to another display of deft plate discipline.
¡°Some parks you¡¯re just extra confident in,¡± said Smith, who went 6-for-11 (.545 batting average) with two homers and three RBIs in the series in Miami. ¡°For some reason, this is one of them. Part of it is probably family and [the] vibes you get from just hanging out with people, kind of getting your mind off baseball. Then you come to the field and lock in. ¡ I feel good here.¡±
Smith has shown excellent coverage, going with pitches in the zone and making it difficult for opponents to find weak spots to beat him. On Wednesday, he waited on an 86.9 mph changeup from Max Meyer that was located low and outside and sent it out of the park.
On Thursday, Marlins starter Edward Cabrera went high and inside with a 95.9 mph fastball, which Smith had no problems with, getting his hands around quickly and smacking it to right.
The blast put Arizona up, 2-0, in the first after Corbin Carroll stole two bases and scored on a sacrifice fly to open the inning.
The D-backs took a 3-1 lead in the third thanks to more excellence from the top of their order. Geraldo Perdomo, who led the team with 13 walks coming into the affair, worked one to lead off. Then, on a hit-and-run, Smith found a wide patch of green grass in left field with Miami¡¯s third baseman shading to his left. He slapped an 0-2 changeup from Cabrera that was notably outside in that direction, allowing Perdomo to score. The hit¡¯s exit velocity was just 68.8 mph, but Smith placed it exactly where it needed to be to notch the RBI. What¡¯s more, it had a hit probability of just 33 percent, per Statcast.
¡°I think, as a whole, this team can win in a lot of different ways, whether it¡¯s pitching, offense,¡± Smith said. ¡°... For me at the plate, just never trying to do too much. Both of those hits were with two strikes, so just trying to hit something hard in play and see what happens.¡±
Smith has now hit safely in eight of his past 10 games. In that stretch, he¡¯s batting .467 (14-for-30) with three homers, four doubles, six RBIs and four walks.
He¡¯s been especially crisp against righties this season, going .422 (19-for-45) with three home runs, seven doubles, seven RBIs and eight walks.
Smith posted a pair of three-hit games earlier in the year. And last season, he tied the second-highest mark in D-backs history for RBIs in a game, driving in eight in a three-homer game against Houston on Sept. 8.
Now, it appears as if he¡¯s putting everything together to develop into one of Arizona¡¯s premier hitters.
¡°Pavin¡¯s locked in,¡± manager Torey Lovullo said. ¡°He¡¯s doing a nice job, and I always say it: ¡®Pavin can hit.¡¯ He [has] a born bat-to-ball type of approach, he knows the strike zone.¡±
Smith¡¯s not the only D-back who¡¯s locked in.
Carroll extended his hitting streak to 10 games, Josh Naylor homered for the third consecutive game and Arizona starters are now 5-1 over their past eight games following Eduardo Rodriguez¡¯s win.
The squad collected its third straight series win and first sweep of the season, having now won seven consecutive games in Miami. It also marked the D-backs¡¯ fifth straight win, the club¡¯s longest winning streak since it won six in a row from Aug. 19-25, 2024.
For Arizona, it¡¯s the right time to be trending in the right direction.
¡°I¡¯m super proud of these guys,¡± Lovullo said. ¡°... We feel good about where we¡¯re at.¡±