Cam Smith swats ninth homer in win over Tigers

Smith now has 11 homers on the season. He hit a solo shot off Zebby Matthews in the fifth inning and another solo shot off Yoendrys Gómez in the ninth inning. Smith now has four home runs in the last seven games. While his power is something to dream on, the 23-year-old outfielder is hitting just .222 with a .685 OPS and 32 RBI.

Smith is patrolling right field and hitting sixth after fouling a ball off his foot over the weekend. The 23-year-old former top prospect didn’t end up missing any time since he came off the bench during Sunday’s series finale against Detroit. He’s homered twice in his last six games, but continues to be a liability in the batting average department, which severely limits his realistic fantasy appeal.

Smith homered in the same at-bat in which he hurt himself and initially stayed in to play right field, but the Astros had Joey Loperfido hit for him in the seventh. Barring something unexpected, Smith should be available Sunday.

The Pirates scored three runs in the top of the seven to go up 8-3, only to lose after the Astros rallied with two in bottom of the inning and six in the eighth. Smith’s triple on a grounder down the first base line gave the Astros the lead. It was his first of this season after he had three as a rookie last year. He’s currently hitting .221/.312/.358 in 235 plate appearances. It’s almost a perfect match for last year’s .236/.312/.358 line in 493 plate appearances.

Smith had three of the game’s five hardest-hit balls tonight, ranging from a 105.9-mph groundout to a 108-mph double. His homer came in at 107.5 mph and was hit 419 feet to left-center. Smith somehow was hitting just .118 with three extra-base hits in home games until busting out some tonight. He had 48 total bases on the road at 14 in Houston.

The Astros nearly botched a golden opportunity after loading the bases with none out in the 10th, with Jose Altuve hitting into an unusual 6-2-5 double play. Smith, however, then plated two with a two-out liner off the Green Monster. It gave him his second three-hit game of the year. He’s hitting .229/.316/.381 through 137 plate appearances.

Smith capped off a five-run uprising in the opening inning with a 414-foot (108.1 mph EV) three-run shot off of Orioles’ right-hander Brandon Young. That would be hit lone hit in four at-bats on the night, though he also worked a walk. For the season, the 23-year-old outfielder is slashing an underwhelming .219/.317/.381, though he has blasted four home runs, stolen four bases and driven in 15.

He’ll likely start the second game. Smith has seen his OPS nosedive over the past week — he was at .868 on April 15, and he enters play on Thursday at .670, with just one steal or homer over that timespan.

This is a routine day off for Smith, who has gone 3-for-22 over his last seven games. However, even over that stretch, he has a 4/4 K/BB ratio, a 45 percent hard hit rate, and four barrels. His .136 batting average over that last week is a far cry from his .293 xBA. While expected stats are not perfect, Smith continues to make plenty of hard contact this season, with massive improvements in bat speed and better plate discipline. We’d imagine a hot stretch is coming again. In the meantime, Taylor Trammell will continue to start in center field, Dustin Harris will play right field against a right-handed pitcher, and Brice Matthews will start in left field.

Smith blistered a pair of doubles and singled twice. The 23-year-old was in a mini-slump with a 1-for-11 mark over his last three games, but this is more inline — to a higher extent, of course — to what we’ve seen to begin the 2026 season. He’s now up to an OPS of .941, and it’s a wonderful reminder of why fantasy managers were so excited to see what he can do in 2025.