WASHINGTON – A day after Mallex Smith left his major league debut with a cut on his forehead that required five stitches, the Braves’ speedy center-field prospect was back in the lineup Tuesday.
Smith was in the leadoff spot again for the second game of a series against the Nationals, with the stitched cut over his left eye covered by a brown bandage and his enthusiasm and energy as high as ever.
“I came here to play,” he said. “So as long as I can physically go out there and play, I’m here to play.”
Smith, 23, got the gash in his head Monday when he slid hands-first on a stolen-base attempt in the fourth inning. His batting helmet popped off when he slid and bounced off the ground and directly into his face.
When he got off the ground after the inning-ending out, there was a significant amount of blood on his face, mainly between his eyes and over his nose.
“I was coming out the game saying, ‘I’m good, I’m good,’” said Smith, who briefly tried to talk his way into staying in the game. “(Later) I saw pictures of it and I was like, OK, I see why you wanted to take me out of the game right there.”
Smith’s parents, Michael and Loretta, traveled to Washington for the game, as did his brother and one of two sisters. All made it to town for the game after Smith informed them Sunday that he was being called up by the Braves to replace Ender Inciarte, who strained a hamstring and went on the 15-day disabled list.
The family had time to get together after the game, and plenty to talk about after Smith’s debut.
“We all went out and got something to eat, hung out in the hotel room,” he said. “It was awesome.”
He went 1-for-3 in his debut, striking out on three pitches against Nationals ace Max Scherzer to start the game, then reaching on a two-out infield single in the second inning and on a fielder’s choice in the fourth.
Smith’s exceptional speed — he’s the fastest player the Braves have had in many years — was evident on the infield hit and when he scored from first base on Nick Markakis’ double in the second inning.
He was out on a strong throw to second on the attempted steal, but he got there quickly and looked like he would’ve been safe if he’d reached around the tag.
After the game, his phone was filled with texts and emails from friends and former teammates, some razzing him.
“I got it all last night,” Smith said, laughing. “From, ‘Wow, you’re soft for leaving the game,’ to, ‘I hope you’re OK’ and ‘Maybe you’ll look better now,’ or, ‘I didn’t even think nothing happened.’ Yeah, I got it all.”
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez had said Monday that he was leaning toward playing Drew Stubbs in the second game. The Braves were facing a left-hander (Gio Gonzalez) and he didn’t want to overwhelm the left-hitting Smith right away by having him face a lefty between hard-throwing Scherzer in his debut and Stephen Strasburg on Wednesday.
But Stubbs was 0-for-11 with five strikeouts in his career against Gonzalez, and besides, Gonzalez wants to see Smith play as much as possible while the prospect is up in the big leagues.
“He’s a guy we think highly of,” Gonzalez said. “Let him play a little bit. See what he’s made of. Tomorrow isn’t going to be a piece of cake (vs. Strasburg). You start doing that (not playing him against lefties) and he’d never play.
“Like we talked about yesterday, he mis-hit a ball and got a base hit. He may do that again today. He may hit a couple of ground balls to one side of the infield or another, and his speed will get you on base and create a little havoc.”
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