Has Braves infielder Orlando Arcia become the villain ahead of Game 3 in Philly?
Orlando Arcia is more likely to steal ice cream from a fan than he is to taunt opponents. However, it's being reported he may have taunted Bryce Harper after Game 2 of the NLDS.
The Atlanta Braves have provided fans with something to celebrate all throughout the travel day to Philadelphia. They shocked the Phillies with 5 unanswered runs to send this series back to Philly tied 1-1.
Michael Harris II and Austin Riley added to the excitement after successfully turning the first 8-5-3 double play in postseason history. This led to absolute pandamonium at Truist Park.
This double play happened because Bryce Harper tested Michael Harris and assumed he might not make the catch to attempt to score the game-tying run. Harris miraculously made the catch and immediately threw back toward second base. He wasn't aware that Harper was heading back to first base.
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That's the chance you take in a big game. If he doesn't take that chance and Harris drops it, he's scoring. That didn't happen and you have to credit Bryce for one thing: he hustled as hard as he could back to first base and made it closer than it should have been.
Harper knew he was taking a chance and even said that in his comments after game. It's playoff baseball and sometimes things don't work out how you'd like them to.
Arcia reportedly taunts Harper for baserunning blunder
While there was a lot of drama on the field, apparently that extended into the clubhouse area after the game. It's being reported by Jake Mintz of FoxSports.com and the Céspedes Family BBQ podcast that Atlanta shortstop Orlando Arcia was loudly mocking Bryce Harper as reporters were getting ready to interview Harris.
Orlando reportedly yelled "ha-ha, atta-boy, Harper" over and over while reporters were in the room.
As of right now, this is the only source reporting that this happened and no writers associated with the Braves have confirmed or denied this report. There also haven't been any other national publications to confirm this either. It seems a little out of character for Arcia to do this but we weren't there so it's hard to say.
We weren't in the clubhouse so there's no way of knowing for sure what happened until there are more accounts corroborating this. Listening back to Michael Harris' comments in the locker room, there didn't appear to be any yelling but that could have been before hitting record.
If this is true, it's not great to give a team like the Phillies any more motivation than they already have. Playing on the road at Citizens Bank Parks is tough enough as it is. Bryce Harper has long owned the Braves in his career so you don't want to poke the bear.
Again, no one from the Braves side is denying it and Rob Thomson was asked about it in his post-game conference if it "motivates them at all". The Phillies skipper responded that no one in the locker room needs any motivation but that if it adds to their motivation "that's great".
It's not clear who asked the question in the clip, however.
Phillies fans are all over Arcia for allegedly making this comment and they're already convinced Harper is going to wreak havoc on the Braves for the remainder of the series. Braves fans are pretty much denying that this even happened.
We can only assume for now that this may have happened and whether or not it has any impact on the rest of this intense NLDS series between bitter rivals.
If the comments were made, Arcia better be ready to back them up because Atlanta doesn't want to be facing elimination in enemy territory. Game 3 of the NLDS will pick up from Philadelphia on Wednesday evening.