Preston Tucker knew he’d need to perform as a pinch-hitter to keep a job with the major league Braves once Ronald Acuna was called up to play left field.
And that’s what Tucker has done, his latest work coming Sunday when his two-out pinch-hit single in the ninth inning produced what proved to be the game-winning RBI as the Braves held on to beat the Marlins, 4-3.
For the season, he’s 5-for-13 (.385) as a pinch-hitter with a double, a walk and an .890 OPS.
“It’s still a little foreign at times, trying to control my adrenaline, not knowing when I’m going to get up and getting (warmed up) multiple times throughout the game,” he said of the difficult-to-master pinch-hitting role.
“But if I’m getting at-bat every game, once I get in the box my approach still feels the same, I still have the release point. I’m not completely lost at the plate, so as long as I’m getting consistent at-bats -- one a day, a couple a series -- I feel pretty good. And that’s really all I’m trying to do.”
He hasn’t had more than one at-bat in any of his 14 games played beginning April 25, the day Acuna arrived from Triple-A and took over in left field. But in that span Tucker has played well, going 6-for-13 (.462) with a double, a walk and only two strikeouts.
“He seems like he’s getting comfortable with coming up there (to pinch-hit),” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after Sunday’s win. “He stays ready. He had two really good at-bats this series with the walk and then the add-on run today, and (Saturday) night he had a good at-bat. He went up there aggressive and is maybe taking to that role.”
The Braves led 3-0 before the ninth inning, when Ender Inciarte and Kurt Suzuki hit consecutive singles to start the inning. Inciarte was thrown out trying to steal third base and Ryan Flaherty flied out before Johan Camargo singled to put runners on the corners with two out.
That’s when Tucker stepped up and delivered a single that drove in Suzuki and pushed the lead to 4-0, an insurance run that proved crucial after Arodys Vizcaino gave up a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning before recording his seventh save.
“Games can change really quickly up here,” Tucker said. “It got a little tight at the end, so you want to be greedy when you’re up and really put pressure (on the opponent) when you’re down. So getting that extra run was big. Camargo did a great job getting the two-out hit to get me up there with a runner in scoring position to give me a chance to drive him in.
“I’m just trying to put good at-bats together, fortunately I’ve had a couple of chances with runners in scoring position and I’m trying to take advantage of that.”
