Travis d'Arnaud's astonishingly powerful performance lifts Braves over world champs

The Atlanta Braves started their series with the reigning World Series champs on the right foot. It was a back-and-forth affair through the first six innings as the Braves and Rangers traded blows.

Chris Sale provided Atlanta with another impressive outing as he completed seven innings, holding the Rangers to three runs with five hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts. Sale being able to complete seven innings over two consecutive starts is a great sign for the veteran southpaw.

The Braves offense backed up Sale's performance on the mound and bailed him out a couple of times after the Rangers scored runs. Normally, all eyes would be on the starting pitcher having a great outing. However, there was a much bigger storyline during Friday's game.

Travis d'Arnaud came into Friday's game with no home runs on the season but that certainly didn't last very long. The Atlanta catcher decided he would take matters into his own hands to resolve that issue.

Atlanta was tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the second inning and d'Arnaud blasted a ball into the left-field seats to give the good guys a 2-1 lead. Tavis decided he wasn't done as he absolutely destroyed a hanging breaking ball into the Hank Aaron terrace seats to extend the Braves lead to 3-1.

A two-homer game is incredible for anyone to achieve but d'Arnaud wasn't finished yet. With the bases loaded, Atlanta's catcher came to the plate with bases loaded and decided it was time to change things up. He destroyed a 95 mph fastball and deposited it into the seats in left-center field.

This moment blew everyone away and there's a reason for that. It's extremely rare to see anyone hit that many homers in one game. After the grand slam, he ended the day 3-4 with three homers and six runs batted in. An absolutely dominant performance against one of baseball's best. Every single home run that he hit on Friday was hit over 420 feet.

Even Chris Sale was impressed with d'Arnaud as he stated, "Tonight was about Travis and that was nothing short of electric. It was just a very fun game to be a part of.” He knows what he witnessed was special and it seems like Sale is really enjoying the atmosphere in Atlanta and he's not alone. Jarred Kelenic also echoes those sentiments recently.

As mentioned above, this is an exclusive club and Travis became the third Braves player since 1901 to hit a grand slam during a three-homer game. The last person to accomplish this is one of d'Arnaud's current teammates.

Adam Duvall achieved this feat during a 29-9 win over the Miami Marlins in September of 2020. Marcell Ozuna, who is on an impressive 17-game hit streak, also accomplished this feat during the 2020 season.

The veteran catcher is only the fourth Braves catcher since Dale Murphy to hit three homers in one game. Other Braves catchers accomplishing this feat include Bob Tillman and Gene Oliver.

Travis also joins a small list of backstops to have multiple three home run performances, including Gary Carter and Johnny Bench. TDA accomplished this in 2019 when he was with the Rays during a match up with the New York Yankees.

Truist Park erupted after the grand slam as everyone knew they were witnessing something special. d'Arnaud was able to get the chance to go for the rare feat of hitting four homers in a game after Michael Harris II blasted a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth. Travis wasn't able to make it happen but that doesn't take away from what was a special evening.

He was happy to be able to deliver such an unfathomed performance in front of the best fanbase in all of Major League Baseball. Fans love having Travis on this team and it's easy to see why. He gives a great on-field performance but is also an incredible presence in the clubhouse. Surely he will relish this day for many years to come.

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