June 19 (UPI) -- Will Smith sat on the Los Angeles Dodgers bench all night before being called to the on-deck circle. He responded by hitting the third pitch he saw for a record-setting pinch-hit, walk-off home run out of Dodger Stadium.
Smith clobbered the 0-2 changeup for a game-winning, 377-foot blast in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Dodgers' 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday in Los Angeles. With the dramatic solo shot, Smith set a record for the most pinch-hit, walk-off homer runs (three) in Dodgers history.
"Fortunately, I've had a few walk-off homers," Smith told reporters. "It's hard to top one."
No Dodgers player recorded more than one hit on the night. Outfielder Andy Pages logged a double and drove in a run. Catcher Dalton Rushing hit a two-run single. Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan allowed three hits and one run over four innings, but was not a record for a decision.
Catcher Elias Diaz hit an RBI single to give the Padres a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Pages tied the score with an RBI sacrifice fly in the fifth. Rushing ripped his two-run single to right in the same inning for a 3-1 Dodgers lead.
