Pavin Smith’s home run lifts Diamondbacks over Angels: ‘It feels possible again’

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks Pavin Smith felt a rush of excitement and relief as his long fly ball clanged off the right-field foul pole at Chase Field on Monday night against the Los Angeles Angels.

First of all, his solo home run put the Diamondbacks ahead in the bottom of the seventh inning, 3-2. Arizona (37-35) tacked on with a Geraldo Perdomo RBI double, and Paul Sewald earned his 18th save for a 4-3 victory.

On the other hand, Smith had finally come through after months of frustration.

It was Smith’s first home run in nearly a calendar year (June 23, 2025). Between injuries and struggling to find a rhythm when healthy, this has been a trying year for the 30-year-old.

“I’ve had lots of opportunities to (come through) over the last few games, and not to be able to come through definitely hurts. So being able to come through for the first time, it feels good,” Smith said.

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

That's So Pavin pic.twitter.com/tN7AsmQaTy

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 16, 2026

Smith entered the game having hit .103 in 36 plate appearances this season. He had a rough performance on Saturday in Cincinnati by leaving four runners in scoring position with two outs in a 2-1 loss. He dropped from fifth to eighth in the lineup.

Having spent most of this season on the IL due to elbow surgery, Smith had dove into the video and obsessed over finding a solution to get back into a rhythm.

Recently, he cut himself off from that, feeling like he had been overthinking and overanalyzing.

“It’s tough when you’re thinking about like five different things in the box,” Smith said. “Just trying to be a baseball player again.”

It looked like he was thinking during his previous at-bat when he squared around to bunt for a hit but fouled it off.

Manager Torey Lovullo asked bench coach Jeff Banister if Smith ever practices with the bunting group that works before games, and Banister said no. On the next pitch, Smith hit a sharp grounder through the hole to at least get off the mat and snap an 0-for-12.

Whether this gets Smith going is a different question. He has drawn the ire of Diamondbacks fans online considering his inconsistencies at the plate over many years in the uniform. From September 2024 through April 2025 he was on fire, but since then, he has been more of a liability in the lineup.

Lovullo has kept using the phrase “Pavin can hit,” which he uttered again before Monday’s game. If Smith can, that solves an issue for a D-backs team that needs a left-handed bat to provide anything. If this was one night of magic, the D-backs have Max Kepler getting reps in the minor leagues before he could attempt to supply power from the left side later this month.

“With every swing that he’s taken in the cage, I feel like he’s getting closer to that feeling that he’s looking for,” Lovullo said. “It was just great to watch him have that moment. It was special for him, and in my gut, I felt like that time was coming.”

Ryne Nelson bounces back against the team he grew up watching

Ryne Nelson swung the pendulum of his up-and-down season back into the direction the Diamondbacks are looking for on Monday with seven innings of two-run baseball to earn the win.

Nelson said he felt pretty solid about how it felt, especially with his breaking pitches.

The right-hander allowed nine hits but managed to limit hard contact. His slider was key, as he did not miss many bats with his fastball but was able to rely on his secondary pitches to put hitters away (nine whiffs with the slider and curveball).

“The slider has a little bit more downward action, more consistent,” Nelson said. “Curveball was a big weakness in the last one. So just really trying to hammer that one out and get it to move how we wanted it to and be more consistent. Just felt like when I put all that together and I’m throwing strikes, the soft contact tends to come around a little bit more.”

Nelson has thrown five straight quality starts at Chase Field, and his last five starts overall have looked like this (reverse order):

• 7 IP, 2 ER (Monday)
• 4 IP, 7 ER
• 7 IP, 2 ER
• 5.1 IP, 4 ER
• 8 IP, 1 ER

His season ERA dropped back below five at 4.97.

The two runs he surrendered were a Jo Adell double in the first inning to score Mike Trout and a Trout solo home run in the fifth — Monday was Trout’s third career major league game at Chase Field, which stands out considering he debuted in 2011.

Getting to face the Angels was a cool experience for Nelson, who grew up rooting for the team and even looking up to Trout.

Even though Trout got the better of him for a home run, Nelson bounced back and struck the future Hall of Famer out looking to end his outing.

“I used to go to the games and watch that guy play. I’ve probably seen him play in person more than anybody else,” Nelson said. “So it’s kind of surreal to be playing against him and competing with him. … I know I belong here, too, so it’s not as much of like, who is this guy? I try to just play my game.”

Defense makes the difference

Angels rookie right-hander Walbert Ureña battled Nelson for most of the night with seven innings and three earned runs (four runs total).

A significant difference between the two teams on Monday was defense. The Diamondbacks made some great defensive plays, especially Ketel Marte at second base. Nelson picked off a runner, as well.

El Niño del Nizao en los controles. 🕹️ pic.twitter.com/Bw26URHlyt

— MLB Español (@mlbespanol) June 16, 2026

The Diamondbacks scored their first two runs in large part due to the Angels’ defensive woes.

Perdomo walked and reached third base in the first inning after two Angels collided on a pop-up caught in foul ground. Gabriel Moreno hit an infield single to score Perdomo, reaching base on a tough throw from third baseman Denzer Guzman that pulled first baseman Nolan Schanuel off the bag.

Corbin Carroll scored in the fourth inning after leading off with a single, stealing second and skipping to third after the throw down got away. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. plated Carroll with a single to right in his first game off the IL.

The Diamondbacks took advantage of shotty defense from the Cincinnati Reds during their series victory over the weekend. For a club that has been grinding offensively, taking advantage of these breaks has been critical for the D-backs to fight through some gritty wins.

Monday attendance

There were 29,457 fans in attendance Monday night.

Tuesday probables

Merrill Kelly (5–5, 5.46 ERA) will pitch for the Diamondbacks on Tuesday with a chance to take the series, while the Angels will start left-hander Reid Detmers (2–5, 4.00 ERA).

First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

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