Pavin Smith had an incredible performance for the Arizona Diamondbacks, hitting three home runs in his first three at-bats against the Houston Astros. His multi-home run game also saw him drive in a career-best eight runs, coming close to the team’s RBI record set by Erubiel Durazo in 2002. The Diamondbacks beat the Astros 12-6 on Sunday, snapping a three-game losing streak. Chris Iannetta was the only other player for the Diamondbacks to achieve eight RBIs in a game, which he did in 2017. Smith’s previous high was six RBIs in a game.
The victory brought the Diamondbacks within a half-game of the San Diego Padres for the National League’s first wild card spot and extended their lead over the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves to 1 1/2 games. Meanwhile, the Astros maintained their 4 1/2 game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the AL West division.
Smith’s first home run of the night came in the second inning after consecutive singles, and he followed it up with a grand slam in the third inning off Justin Verlander, who struggled on the mound. Verlander gave up eight runs on eight hits over three innings, with this game marking just the third time in his 381 career regular-season starts that he failed to record a strikeout. Since returning from injury, Verlander has struggled, sporting a 9.68 ERA over four starts.
Even after Verlander was replaced, Smith continued to shine, hitting his seventh home run of the season in the fifth inning. Eugenio Suárez also had an impressive game for the Diamondbacks, going 4 for 5 with his 26th homer, two RBIs, and four runs scored.
The Astros’ Chas McCormick and Yainer Diaz each had three hits in the game. McCormick, in particular, has been performing well since being called up from Triple-A, batting .409 in six games.
In terms of injuries, Astros infielder Mauricio Dubón missed his second consecutive game due to a left thumb injury but was able to take swings in the cage before the game.
In the next games, the Diamondbacks were set to face the Texas Rangers, with Zac Gallen scheduled to pitch, while the Astros were scheduled to play against the Oakland Athletics, with Spencer Arrighetti slated to start on the mound.
