Dominic Smith's Performance in Braves Win Puts Him in Rare Company

Dominic Smith played a key role in the Atlanta Braves pouncing on the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night. Turns out that how he went about it was a rare feat in franchise history.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, he is the sixth Braves player in the divisional era (since 1969) with an over-the-wall home run and either an inside-the-park or Little League home run (non-home run plate appearance scored on) in the same game, joining the following players.

Fred McGriff (inside-the-park), July 27, 1993
Andres Thomas, July 18, 1986
Gary Matthews Sr. (inside-the-park), May 1, 1979
Jeff Burroughs, June 26, 1977
Ivan Murrell, June 18, 1974

Dominic Smith is the 6th Braves player in the divisional era (1969) with an over-the-wall HR AND either an inside-the-park or Little League HR (non-HR PA scored on) in the same game, joining:

7/27/93 Fred McGriff (ITP)
7/18/86 Andres Thomas
5/1/79 Gary Matthews Sr. (ITP)
6/26/77… pic.twitter.com/JAuLeGCKHt
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 21, 2026

Smith worked a 12-pitch at-bat in the top of the sixth inning, and finished off with a three-run home run to put the Braves up 8-1. Fast-forward to the top of the eighth inning, and he picked up a one-out triple. The throw was off the mark into the infield, allowing Smith to make a mad dash for home.

"I ran out of gas. I'm sure they're gonna have some fun with it tomorrow at the hitters meeting. When I got in the dugout, everybody was laughing about it. I looked at my phone, family members are already texting me memes of me laid out, me running," he said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It’s already a rare company as it is, but he’s the first to achieve this feat in over 30 years. The first five came consistently over a 20-year period, and then that was it until this week.

Apart from Murrell, who played for the Braves during the final year of his career, he joined a group that had some solid time in Atlanta. McGriff, of course, stands out as a Hall of Famer and a member of the 1995 World Series team.

But Matthews and Burroughs were All-Stars during their time in Atlanta, and Thomas was with the team for a few years in the late 1980s. So, the company is quality among rare as well.

Smith continues to build on his success story that started when he was a late addition to the spring training roster. He's already a veteran ballplayer, but he joined the team on a minor league contrac t a week after pitchers and catchers reported.

The following six weeks, his strong performance, as well as another factor or two that opened the door, led to him getting a new contract and joining the opening day roster. So far, he's done all he can to maintain a spot.

He's batting .337 with a .903 OPS, his best numbers in five seasons. He's been allowed to flourish in a matchup he excels in: That's against right-handed pitchers.

In a year where he's had plenty of moments, he's found a way to get a quirky one into the history books.

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