The Braves powered their way to an 8-1 victory over the Rockies on Friday at Truist Park. They’ve won four in a row.
Here are five takeaways:
1. The Braves wasted no time jumping all over the lowly Rockies. Their acclaimed first-inning offense struck again, tagging Colorado starter Dinelson Lamet for three runs. It started with outfielder Ronald Acuna’s walk. He stole second and later scored on a wild pitch. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud hammered a two-run homer.
In the first inning, the Braves are tied for most homers (20) and have the MLB lead in doubles (22), runs (62), average (.332), and OPS (.985).
“I’m sure when (the opponent) is game-planning, that’s a stat that comes up (the first-inning success),” d’Arnaud said. “It adds even more pressure for them when that first pitch happens. One through nine can leave the yard at any time. You have Ronnie leading off, who I think is the MVP. It’s tough.”
Manager Brian Snitker added: “The fact that when we have that first-inning offense, all of a sudden (the opponent) turns around in the second inning and they’re facing that same group again, which can be a little unnerving, I think, for guys. When you they look up in the second inning and here they come again when you’re only 30 minutes into the game. I think the top half of the lineup can be relentless and always looming and coming back around.”
2. D’Arnaud’s blast went 474 feet, the fourth longest in Truist Park history. It was also d’Arnaud’s 100th career home run. He hit No. 101 in the third inning to extend the lead to 5-0.
The Braves’ All-Star catcher joined Marcell Ozuna (209), Matt Olson (195), Eddie Rosario (147), Acuna (135), Ozzie Albies (113), Austin Riley (108) and Kevin Pillar (103) as active Braves to reach the 100-homer mark.
“When I first came over here, (retired Braves catcher) Tyler Flowers and I were talking about how many homers we had,” d’Arnaud said. “I think at the time I had 60-something and would reference everyone that they were in my book. He told me I had a notepad until I got to 100. For me, I can finally say I have a book of homers. It’s pretty special.”
Friday marked d’Arnaud’s seventh career multi-homer game. He doubled his season home run total in one night.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
3. Acuna has stolen 30 bases through 70 games. He’s the first player in MLB history with 15 homers and 30 stolen bases in the first 70 games of a season.
Acuna is three steals behind A’s rookie Esteury Ruiz for the major-league lead. Acuna is 11 stolen bases clear of the next-highest total in the National League (Ji-Hwan Bae, 19).
Acuna is on track to shatter his previous career best in stolen bases (37). He remains the betting favorite for NL MVP at most sportsbooks. Asked how many stolen bases he’s aiming for this season, Acuna said (via team interpreter Franco Garcia): “Whatever I can finish with. Every time I’m at first, I’m running.”
4. Rookie lefty Jared Shuster produced one of the better starts of his young career. He allowed one run on five hits over 5-2/3 innings. Compare that with Lamet, who was charged eight earned runs over four innings.
5. The Braves started three consecutive rookies with Dylan Dodd, AJ Smith-Shawver and Shuster. They went 3-0 in those games. “You credit our scouting and player development for that,” Snitker said.
Stat to know
15 -- The Braves have hit 15 home runs of at least 450 feet, nine more than any other team. The next-highest total in the National League is six, shared by the Dodgers and Rockies.
Quotable
“I’m going to claim it every single day of my life. It’s what it said.” – d’Arnaud, skeptical of Statcast’s measurement of his 474-foot blast
Up next
The Braves vs. Rockies series continues with Bryce Elder (4-1, 2.69) opposing Connor Seabold (1-2, 4.70) on Saturday afternoon.
