Will Smith’s hilarious reaction to missing out on the exclusive 4-homer club

The Los Angeles Dodgers (54-35) went into the opening game of their series against the Milwaukee Brewers (52-37) a little upset after losing two of three games against the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks, but they made a big splash on Friday night. And the team has catcher Will Smith to thank for that.

The 2023 All-Star (and probably this year’s as well) always finds his way back to his swing and had a spectacular night at Dodger Stadium, hitting three solo home runs, all of which LA needed for an 8-5 victory over the National League Central leaders. He is only the fourth catcher in the franchise’s long, storied history to hit three home runs in a game.

But unfortunately, sometimes the focus is more on what you missed than what you actually accomplished. With the score tied 5-5 at the end of the eighth inning, thanks to Smith, the Boys in Blue put pressure on the Brewers bullpen. The 29-year-old entered the game with two outs and runners on first and second base, and managed his second walk of the night.

The game-ending heroics were then masterminded by a familiar culprit: Freddie Freeman, who scored the winning runs with a game-winning single. Had Will Smith hit another ball over the fence, he would have become only the third Dodger player to ever hit four home runs in a single game (Gil Hodges and Shawn Green).

Smith was asked if he knew how many players were in that exclusive club of four-time players, and he answered quite succinctly and amusingly. “Well, I’m not one of them,” he said, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. “So…”

Will Smith is coming into his own at just the right time for the Dodgers

It’s nice to see the former first-round pick not getting cocky after his stunning night. However, he deserves to bask in his remarkable feat of power, especially given the timing. LA is currently in the midst of a six-game series where it faces the two NL teams it has sandwiched between it, Milwaukee and the MLB-best Philadelphia Phillies.

Securing a bye and home-field advantage for the playoffs will allow the Dodgers to improve their starting lineup and excite their fans, two things that didn’t matter last year but should be beneficial in October. If they perform well over the next few days, they could get a little more breathing room from the Brewers and narrow the Phillies’ deficit a bit.

A red-hot Will Smith increases the likelihood that Los Angeles enters the MLB All-Star break feeling good. After hitting a measly .203 batting average with just two home runs in June, he has eight hits in his last 17 at-bats. Smith summed up his abrupt turnaround at the plate perfectly.

“I think that’s baseball,” he said after the game, via DiGiovanna. “There’s always ups and downs. I just kept working and making minor swing adjustments. I think last week there was better contact, and yeah, there were a few of those tonight… I’ve been doing that all game. I just tried to make a good decision on what pitch to swing at and put a good swing on it.”

Although Smith hasn’t managed to achieve Dodgers immortality, he’s absolutely in top form right now, and LA will look to capitalize on his momentum as it tries to win the series against Milwaukee on Saturday night.