Braves get big inning, led (again) by d¡¯Arnaud
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It doesn¡¯t matter where the ball is pitched. Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud is crushing it anwhere.
d¡¯Arnaud had another huge hit in Atlanta¡¯s four-run third inning in a 7-0 victory over Miami in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Thursday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 6 | ATL 9, MIA 5 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 7 | ATL 2, MIA 0 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 8 | ATL 7, MIA 0 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: The Braves took a 1-0 lead when Ronald Acu?a Jr. walked and Freddie Freeman singled, before Marcell Ozuna drove in Acu?a on an RBI single against Marlins rookie Sixto S¨¢nchez.
It set up d¡¯Arnaud, who homered in each of the first two games of the series.
S¨¢nchez threw d¡¯Arnaud a 0-2 fastball up and out of the zone. He somehow drove the ball off the right-center-field wall for a two-run double to make it 3-0. The 95.5-mph fastball was 4.09 feet off the ground, according to Statcast. It was the third-highest pitch hit for extra bases in the regular season or postseason this year.
"I was able to execute my pitch on that one," S¨¢nchez said. "It was a really high pitch, and I was really, really surprised to see him making contact, and good contact, on that pitch."
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How in the world did d¡¯Arnaud do that?
¡°I'm still wondering too,¡± d¡¯Arnaud said. ¡°I just tried to put the barrel on the ball. I got rewarded with a double that scored two runs. You know, I don't know. I just tried to stay short and put the barrel on the ball, and like I said, I got rewarded.¡±
¡°That was like old school right there, just tomahawking a ball,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°Guys are pitching up a lot more these days, and he just did an old-school hack on that thing.¡±
d¡¯Arnaud advanced to third on Ozzie Albies¡¯ lineout to center field and scored on Dansby Swanson¡¯s sacrifice fly to right to make it 4-0.
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d¡¯Arnaud hit .600 (6-for-10) with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs (the most by a catcher in Division Series history), three walks and a 2.092 OPS in the series. He has been behind the plate for each of the Braves¡¯ five postseason games, and he has caught four shutouts.
¡°The guy putting the numbers down and handling the staff deserves a lot of credit,¡± Snitker said. ¡°Travis has done an unbelievable job. And what he does with the bat as a catcher, you just don't see that all the time. You're talking elite players right there that do what he did in these two series, and the impact that he had offensively. I can't say enough about that guy. He's just been unbelievable for us and even the hits overshadow the unbelievable defensive job that he's done with our pitchers.¡±