As the Los Angeles Dodgers were slugging their way through a back-and-forth affair with the Philadelphia Phillies, one of the organization’s top prospects was putting together a career night.
Will Smith hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and went on to finish with a career-high seven RBI to lead Triple-A Oklahoma City to a 13-4 win against Triple-A Iowa (Chicago Cubs affiliate).
Each of Smith’s home runs came within the first two innings and he became the first Oklahoma City player with seven RBI in a single game since Brandon Laird on Aug. 3, 2013.
Smith’s two-run homer provided Oklahoma City with a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and his first career grand slam in the second added to it. His final RBI came via a walk with the bases loaded in the third inning.
Smith’s previous career high was four RBI, reached earlier this season with Oklahoma City and initially set while he was with High-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2017.
After a rather nondescript showing as a non-roster invite to Spring Training, Smith has been nothing short of a revelation both with the Dodgers and OKC.
Smith finished the 2018 campaign with Oklahoma City and was assigned to the Dodgers’ top affiliate at the beginning of this season. He appeared in 38 games prior to receiving a promotion during the final days of May.
Smith was immediately thrown into the fire, making his MLB debut one night after joining the Dodgers. He singled in his first at-bat and finished 2-for-4 in a losing effort against the New York Mets.
Smith’s first career home run also was a walk-off, and he later hit a second game-winning home run. That came hours after he had been recalled from Oklahoma City in a corresponding move to David Freese landing on the 10-day injured list.
Despite his impressive showing, Smith has been unable to stick with the Dodgers longterm. He recently was sidelined by an oblique injury, though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not consider the issue to be serious.
