Dominic Smith, in his Braves debut, hits a grand slam walk-off home run off Roya;ls Pitcher Carlos Estévez. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
By BILL TROCCHI
ATLANTA (AP) — Dominic Smith hit a walk-off grand slam and the Atlanta Braves stunned the Kansas City Royals with a six-run ninth inning in a 6-2 victory on Saturday night.
Smith hit a 3-2 pitch from Carlos Estévez (0-1) over the right field wall as the Braves won for the second straight night.
Osvaldo Bido (1-0) picked up the win in his Braves debut after striking out all three batters in the ninth inning.
Michael Harris II was 3 for 4 with an RBI, and Mike Yastrzemski was 2 for 4 with an RBI.
The Braves trailed 2-0 entering the ninth, but Yastrzemski and Harris had RBI singles to tie it before Smith ended it with his home run.
Michael Wacha threw six shutout innings, and Salvador Perez hit a home run for the Royals.
Wacha was dominant, giving up just three hits and a walk. He twice induced double-plays and had seven strikeouts. Fifty-seven of his 80 pitches were strikes.
Vinnie Pasquantino had an RBI, and Jac Caglianone was 2 for 3 for the Royals.
Kansas City Royals pitcher Michael Wacha (52) delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
Reynaldo López gave up just three hits and one run in six innings and struck out three in his return from shoulder surgery that limited him to one start in 2025. There were concerns for Atlanta about López’s velocity after his final spring training start when his fastball averaged just 89.2 mph. López said it was a question of mechanics, not injury, and he backed that up by averaging his more typical 94.4 mph on fastballs against the Royals, according to Statcast.
Up next
Braves RHP Grant Holmes will start the series finale against RHP Seth Lugo on Sunday.
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