Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud joined the franchise record books Friday when he launched three home runs in his team’s 8-3 win over Texas at Truist Park.
D’Arnaud homered twice off Rangers lefty Andrew Heaney before the stage was set for his finale. He cranked a grand slam off southpaw Jacob Latz, turning a 3-3 tie into a 7-3 lead.
Funny enough, d’Arnaud didn’t have a homer entering the night. “My timing has felt good,” d’Arnaud said. “We’ve just worked to make sure I stayed back and didn’t try to do too much with my lower half and stay short. Instant gratification.”
In the eighth, d’Arnaud stepped up to the plate with an opportunity to hit his fourth homer. The team stood at the rail of the dugout. “You hate to say it, but you’re almost expecting it,” starter Chris Sale said. D’Arnaud received a standing ovation before grounding out to short.
“I’m sure everybody was hoping to see something like that,” d’Arnaud said. “It didn’t work out, but we won. So it’s all good.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
D’Arnaud joined an exclusive list. Here are the Atlanta Braves to hit three homers in a single game:
Gene Oliver (1966)
Bob Tillman (1969)
Rico Carty (1970)
Mike Lum (1970)
Orlando Cepeda (1970)
Dale Murphy (1979)
Bob Horner (4 homers; 1986)
Ken Griffey (1986)
Jeff Treadway (1990)
Jeff Blauser (1992)
Andruw Jones (2002)
Chipper Jones (2006)
Mark Teixeira (2008)
Matt Kemp (2017)
Marcell Ozuna (2020)
Adam Duvall (twice in 2020; Duvall is the only other player to hit a grand slam in his three-homer outing)
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