Smith's long-awaited homer shows skipper's confidence in him is justified

PHOENIX -- There's a phrase that Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen seemingly always use when they talk about first baseman Pavin Smith.

"Pavin can hit."

Before Monday night's series opener with the Angels, Lovullo was asked about continuing to write Smith's name in the lineup, considering his struggles since recently coming off the injured list.

After explaining why he wants to give Smith time to get his footing under him after missing time, Lovullo said it.

"Pavin can hit."

Smith made his manager look prophetic a few hours later when his seventh-inning homer off the right-field foul pole for a go-ahead hit in what turned out to be a 4-3 Arizona win.

As he left the batter's box, Smith tried to use some body English to keep the ball fair.

"I knew I had the distance, it was kind of curving, and then it straightened out, and I was praying to hit the foul pole, just so I didn't leave it into the umpire's hands, and it did, thankfully," Smith said.

It was Smith's first home run since June 23, 2025, and while it was almost a full calendar year, it's worth noting that he played only 17 games after the homer last season, once again due to injuries.

The happiness and relief that Smith felt were obvious to his teammates when he got back to the dugout.

"He knows it hasn't been really going his way lately," starter Ryne Nelson said of Smith. "So, just to see a guy kind of break through like that -- the smile he had on his face was pretty awesome. He's a great teammate, he's a great guy to have around, great clubhouse guy. So, he's one of those guys that you want to see things go well for."

Smith opened the year with a nagging pain in his left elbow, but felt like he was seeing the ball well while playing two of the first three games of the season. He thought the discomfort was something he could play through.

Instead, he wound up needing surgery on the elbow to remove loose bodies, and he missed the next two months.

"It's been extremely frustrating," Smith said.

When a hitter misses two months of the season, it's often a challenge for him to regain his timing at the plate. For Smith, that was the case.

Coming into the game, Smith was 2-for-23 since being activated off the IL at the beginning of June.

"A lot of hitting is definitely feels, and it's hard to get those feels back," Smith said.

As he continued to struggle the last couple of weeks, he found himself constantly watching video of his swing, trying to find an answer.

Finally, enough was enough, and it was time to try something different. About four or five days ago, he stopped watching video.

"I just kind of stopped overanalyzing and looking at video and just tried to be a baseball player again, and just kind of feel it in the box," Smith said. "It's tough when you're thinking about like five different things in the box, so just trying to be a baseball player again."

Even at the Major League level, when a player struggles, it can feel like a hole you'll never be able to dig yourself out of, so to have even the smallest amount of success, not to mention a key homer, is a big deal.

"Definitely a lot of relief," Smith said. "It's definitely been frustrating and tough. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't trying to grind in the cage. Because I know I'm a good hitter, and it's just a matter of time. But in the moment, it doesn't feel like it. It feels impossible, you know? So just being able to get one, feel it, it gives you confidence going forward. You know it's possible again."

It is. Because, well, Pavin can hit.