Cam Smith's Surge Propels Astros In Phillies Series

Houston Astros right fielder Cam Smith (11) Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cam Smith's Surge Propels Astros In Phillies Series

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI
By Thomas Heiberger | Last updated Sep 10, 2026 8:00 PM ET

Cam Smith provided the crucial go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of Thursday’s series finale against the Phillies in Philadelphia. It was Smith’s third home run in as many days. Smith has played better since the beginning of August and has provided the Astros with critical clutch at-bats as they look to maintain the division lead.

Clutch Homers

Before Smith’s ninth-inning blast broke a 1-1 tie, Smith homered on Wednesday, breaking a 4-4 tie, a lead that the Astros would give up with their relief pitching. His homer on Tuesday made a 4-0 game a 5-0 Astros lead, another run the Astros couldn’t live without in what would turn out to be a one-run Astros victory.

Hot Since August

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Smith is hitting .262 with a .860 OPS since the onset of August. He also has a .563 slugging percentage with seven home runs, two doubles and four triples since August began. Smith is tied with Corbin Carroll for the most triples in baseball over that span.

Smith started August hot before cooling off near the end. In the first 11 games of the month, he had a .395 average with a 1.136 OPS thanks to finding an abundance of holes in the defense with a sprinkling of home runs. He went cold for the remainder of the month with a .105 average and a .438 OPS in his final 14 games of August. But Smith seems to be finding the batting stroke that he had over the first part of August. Over the last 10 games, he has a .286 average with a 1.157 OPS. His .774 slugging over these games ranks seventh in baseball.

Three-Straight Homer Games

With a home run in three straight games, Cam became the fifth different Astros player to hit a homer in three games in a row this season, joining Christian Walker, Isaac Paredes, Yordan Alvarez (twice) and Jeremy Pena. Pena and Alvarez are the only two Astros before Smith who homered in every game of a three-game set.

Season Improvement

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With his two-hit day on Thursday, Cam brings his OPS up to .695 for the season. An improvement over his .671 OPS in 2025. With his 20th homer of the season on Thursday, he more than doubled his nine home runs from 2025.

If Smith keeps up this pace, Astros manager Joe Espada will decide if Smith needs to be moved up in the order or stay where he is for consistency. Either way, Smith’s hot bat can push the Astros further up the American League standings as they face some tough competition down the stretch of the season.

This article first appeared on Houston Astros on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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