The last time Caleb Smith pitched into the seventh inning of a start came nearly two years ago, back when he was in the Miami Marlins’ rotation and these Arizona Diamondbacks were his opponent.
That night — July 29, 2019 — was 721 days ago. Since then, Smith has been traded to Arizona, relegated to the bullpen for 18 consecutive appearances that threatened his baseball identity, and eventually reinserted into the rotation in early June.
In eight starts since, Smith had pitched to a 5.63 ERA, punctuated by allowing nine earned runs in one-plus innings in his last start as the Diamondbacks lost to the Dodgers, 22-1.