Will Smith was used as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Wednesday night matchup against the San Diego Padres. He delivered his third career pinch-hit walk-off home run.
Smith not only won the game for the Dodgers but also etched his name in Dodgers history in a unique way. His home run broke a tie with Rick Monday for the most pinch-hit walk-off home runs in franchise history, according to MLB.com's Sonja Chen.
"Walk-off homers are always fun," Smith said per Chen. "They're exciting, the crowd loves them. It's fun to go home with fireworks and everything."
Smith's other pinch-hit walk-off home runs came on June 20, 2021, against the San Francisco Giants and June 23, 2019, against the Colorado Rockies. All of his pinch-hit walk-off home runs have come against division rivals. The Dodgers now have a 4 1/2 game lead on the Giants in the National League West.
The MLB career leader for pinch-hit walk-off home runs is Jason Giambi. Giambi hit one for the New York Yankees, three for the Rockies and two for the Cleveland Guardians franchise. Smith has a long way to go to catch him, but he is now tied with Charlie Culberson, Larry Sheets and Gates Brown for the second-most pinch-hit walk-off home runs in league history.
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Smith also saved the Dodgers' bullpen from an extra-innings game. Justin Wrobleski relieved Emmet Sheehan after four innings and gave the Dodgers five innings. He noted that he was ready to go out for the tenth inning, but Smith had other plans. Smith kept Wrobleski from throwing a sixth inning of relief and potentially Roberts from having to tax his bullpen.
"Obviously, I'm fired up because we won the game," Wrobleski said per Chen. "First and foremost, that's awesome. … But I was sitting there ready to go out for that next inning. Will hits a homer, I guess my night's done, our night's done, we win the game."
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