"After missing the final three weeks of the regular season with a hairline fracture in his right hand, the Dodgers ' All-Star catcher sat out of the National League wild-card series, then came off the bench late in the first two games against the Phillies in the division series. He's been making up for that lost time ever since. Despite spotting his teammates those four starts, Smith's .314 postseason average is best among Dodgers with at least 10 at-bats."
"His two hits Saturday - he also had a run-scoring single in the first - gave him nine hits in his last six games, and he has reached base safely in seven of his eight starts. But the home run, a 404-foot drive he pulled just inside the left-field foul pole, was his first extra-base hit of the playoffs, a sign the hand injury may finally be behind him."
"He has 11 hits, the biggest of which came in the seventh inning Saturday when his tie-breaking solo homer sparked the Dodgers to a 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, evening the best-of-seven World Series at a win apiece. The series resumes Monday at Dodger Stadium where the Dodgers, now owning the home-field advantage in the playoff, can close things out. "We're 1-1 right now. So we're heading back to L.A. trying to win three more," Smith said."
Will Smith returned from a hairline fracture in his right hand to deliver crucial offense for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He missed the end of the regular season and sat out the wild-card series before limited early playoff appearances, yet has compiled 11 postseason hits and a .314 average, the team best among players with at least 10 at-bats. Smith's 404-foot, seventh-inning solo homer produced the go-ahead run in a 5-1 Game 2 win over Toronto, and he finished with three RBIs. The series moves to Dodger Stadium, where his regained health could prove decisive.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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