Right now in Major League Baseball, Travis d’Arnaud may be the hottest player on the diamond. D’Arnaud delivered the game-ending blow to the Rangers for the second straight night on Saturday, blasting a two-run long ball in the bottom of the eighth inning, after his three home runs, including a grand slam, on Friday night. Atlanta would maintain a 5-2 advantage for the remainder of the game after the home run. A boisterous 41,744 spectators sent out a yell as Raisel Iglesias ended the ninth inning. Atlanta won their sixth straight game and the series with the victory.
The 35-year-old catcher earned two walks and was hit by a pitch prior to launching a home run on Saturday, suggesting that the Rangers are spending more time against him than the rest of the Braves. Only once, on a groundout in the eighth inning of Friday’s game, did d’Arnaud fail to reach base in his eight plate appearances during the series.
With six innings of two-run ball and just four hits allowed, Braves starter Charlie Morton contributed to the victory on Saturday. Atlanta’s bullpen remained resolute, as it has been for much of the early season. Iglesias, AJ Minter, and Joe Jimenez have all pitched scoreless innings and allowed just one hit apiece.
Atlanta appears to have recovered from its unusually “slow” start to the season, where an 8-5 record raised more questions than it answered. They have now won six straight games.
But Marcell Ozuna game-winning home run against the Marlins last Sunday in the ninth inning appears to have rejuvenated a Braves team that could blow up at any time. No matter how Sunday’s game turns out, Atlanta is back on pace and appears to be the World Series contender that everyone anticipated.
But following Saturday’s game in Atlanta, there is one big question that is being asked: Who would have guessed that the Braves would win the series behind a 35-year-old catcher who would light up the opposition, the reigning MLB champions?
