Dominic Smith hit a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning to help the Atlanta Braves overcome a two-run deficit and beat the visiting Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Saturday night.
Smith’s home run, a 386-foot shot to right-center field, came with one out against Royals closer Carlos Estevez (0-1), who failed to hold a 2-0 lead.
The rally started when Drake Baldwin walked to lead off the bottom of the inning, took third on Matt Olson’s single and scored on Mike Yastrzemski’s one-out single. After Ozzie Albies walked, Jorge Mateo — running for Olson — scored the tying run when Michael Harris II lined a pitch off Estevez for a single.
The winning pitcher was Osvaldo Bido (1-0), who struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth. The right-hander was making his first appearance since joining the team off waivers from the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
Kansas City starter Michael Wacha pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. He has now allowed three or fewer earned runs in 24 of his 30 road starts with the Royals.
Salvador Perez broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run in the seventh inning — ending a 15-inning scoreless streak to start the season — on the first pitch from Reynaldo Lopez. It was the 304th homer of Perez’s career, leaving him 13 away from tying Hall of Famer George Brett for the franchise record.
Lopez was impressive in his first start since exactly one year earlier, March 28, 2025. He was then shut down for the season with shoulder issues that required surgery. He allowed one run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts on Saturday.
Kansas City tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Maikel Garcia walked with one out by reliever Joel Payamps and went to third on a single by Bobby Witt Jr. Garcia scored when Atlanta’s sure-handed first baseman Olson missed a routine grounder with the infield in off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino.
The Braves kept Kansas City off the board in the third inning. With Isaac Collins on third base, Garcia hit a fly to right field that was caught by Ronald Acuna Jr. Collins appeared ready to tag up but changed his mind when Acuna fired a strike to the plate.
–Field Level Media
