Dominic

Smith

The Braves got all of their runs on homers, with Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin contributing solo shots. Smith’s homer came off Griffin Canning in the fourth. The Padres had Yuki Matsui up in the pen at the time, and it would have been interesting to see if Smith, who is 4-for-28 with one extra-base hit against southpaws this season, would have remained in the game had they made the switch. The homer was Smith’s seventh on the season. He’s likely looking at a reduced role or perhaps the loss of his roster spot when Ronald Acuña Jr. comes off the IL.

The Padres have left-hander Kyle Hart opening in front of Griffin Canning today, but with Smith and Mike Yastrzemski in the lineup, the Braves are treating it as if they were facing a right-handed starter. As a result, Joey Bart and Eli White, who both usually start versus lefties, are on the bench. Smith could use a big day; he seems like a candidate to lose his roster spot when Ronald Acuña Jr. is activated.

Kyle Farmer was released to open up a spot. Yastrzemski missed the minimum 10 days with elbow inflammation. He’ll likely take over as the right fielder against right-handers for now. Once Ronald Acuña Jr. returns, Dominic Smith, the typical DH against righties, could lose most of his playing time and or maybe his roster spot entirely.

Smith strolled to the dish with the bases juiced and a run already in and lined a ball off of the ankle of Cardinals’ starter Dustin May and into right field, turning into a three-run double that gave the Braves a 5-3 advantage. That would be all of their offense in the ballgame though and Smith’s only hit in four at-bats. His bat has cooled a bit following his hot start to the season, though he’s still hitting a respectable .278/.320/.417 with six homers and 35 RBI in 207 plate appearances.

Santana didn’t seem to have much in the tank left last year, but he didn’t get a real shot with the Diamondbacks after playing in eight games at the beginning of the season and then getting released upon returning from an adductor strain. The Braves could go to him as a part-timer at some point if Dominic Smith continues to fade.

Smith came into this game without a hit in more than a week and was stuck in his first slump of the season. It seems like he ended that decisively with his two-run shot in this one that more or less ended Pirates’ starter Braxton Ashcraft’s outing and more or less put this game away. Still starting against all right-handed pitchers the Braves face, Smith has had a magnificent season to this point with six home runs, 28 RBI, a .309 batting average, and an .830 OPS through 52 games.

No surprise here with lefty Ranger Suárez, who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season, toeing the rubber at Fenway Park. The 30-year-old, who has been an unexpected revelation for the first-place Braves this season, could wind up sitting out the entire series against his former club with young lefties Connelly Early and Payton Tolle set to take the ball for the final two games. Eli White takes a turn at DH on Tuesday night in his place.

Smith’s first “home run” of the game knocked out Marlins’ starter Janson Junk and put an exclamation point on a five-run sixth inning that broke this game open. His second “home run” was technically a triple because Owen Caissie and Esteury Ruiz collided in the outfield, but Smith still crushed it in the gap. It’s a bit shocking to see his .337 batting average, .903 OPS and five home runs through 40 games played as a key cog for the resurgent Braves.

Smith was a lineup fixture against right-handers while Sean Murphy was out, but last week, he was twice on the bench versus righties so that Drake Baldwin could DH while Murphy caught. That won’t be an issue again for a little while now, as Murphy returned to the injured list today with a finger fracture. Smith is batting .363/.391/.550 in 88 plate appearances this season.

Murphy lasted just six days on the active roster before getting hurt on a catcher’s interference during Sunday’s game. Sandy Léon will place him as Drake Baldwin’s backup, but the bigger beneficiary here is Dominic Smith, who will resume seeing more time at DH against righties with Murphy absent.