Arcia’s knock gives Braves walk-off thriller in home opener
ATLANTA — Orlando Arcia has continued to take the excessive highway when requested whether or not he was bothered throughout Spring Training listening to Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake being touted because the favorites to start this season as Dansby Swanson’s alternative.
Instead of complaining, Arcia is taking full benefit of a possibility and permitting Braves followers to spend this season’s first week forgetting that Swanson is now with the Cubs.
Arcia added to the listing of nice Braves house opener reminiscences when he delivered a walk-off single that concluded a 7-6 comeback win over the Padres on Thursday evening at Truist Park.
“I like those situations a lot, mainly because I just tell myself I want to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Arcia mentioned via an interpreter. “I sort of fixate on that and do no matter I can to drag it off for the workforce.”
Having already erased a two-run deficit within the eighth with Arcia’s assist, the Braves started their ninth-inning rally with Eddie Rosario’s two-out, pinch-hit double. Rosario slapped Nabil Crismatt’s 3-2 slider into the right-field nook and raced to second base. Arcia adopted by hitting his game-ender to middle discipline.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re an American guy or a Latin guy, we’re united as a team,” Arcia mentioned. “We get along so well. I think that’s the key to our success.”
With their first comeback win of the younger season, the Braves improved to 6-1 for simply the fourth time this century, having additionally reached this mark in 2007, ’13 and ’15.
Arcia’s third-inning homer helped construct a lead for Spencer Strider, who struck out 9, however allowed a three-run homer to Matt Carpenter towards a knee-high fastball. The Padres gained a two-run lead towards Kirby Yates within the prime of the eighth after which watched the Braves tie the sport with three straight two-out singles within the backside of the inning.
Every time the Braves wanted a spark, they acquired one from Arcia, who has gone 10-for-27 with two doubles and two homers via this season’s first seven video games.
“It’s awesome,” Olson mentioned. “You can’t help but to root for the guy. With the spot he’s been in over the past couple years of being the role guy and not knowing when your next at-bat or start will be. He’s done a hell of a job with the opportunity he has been given and it’s been a lot of fun to watch.”
Arcia served because the Brewers’ beginning shortstop from 2017-20 and produced some memorable moments throughout his time in Milwaukee. But scouts and evaluators started to see him extra as a backup infielder, a job he served the previous two seasons in Atlanta.
When Spring Training started this 12 months, Arcia served as a safety blanket of kinds within the Braves’ shortstop competitors. Grissom’s vary has created motive to wonder if he could be efficient in that position as an each ay participant. As for Shewmake, he may gain advantage from the extra offensive seasoning he’s gaining with Grissom on the Triple-A degree.
Still, many storylines nonetheless pointed to the chance both Shewmake or Grissom would develop into Atlanta’s beginning shortstop. As late as March 18, Snitker mentioned, “We’re going to take one of the two [Shewmake or Grissom] more than likely. We’ll see who we leave with in a couple of weeks.”
Three days later, Shewmake and Grissom had been optioned, opening the door for Arcia to spend this previous week permitting his manufacturing to again up his perception in his skill to be an on a regular basis shortstop.
“Arcia has been a really good player for a long time,” Braves supervisor Brian Snitker mentioned. “He’s been a starting shortstop on division-winning teams. He’s got a slow heartbeat and he’s confident in his abilities.”
And when he does ship like he did on this celebratory house opener, he savors the prospect to be showered with reward and no matter is within the dugout coolers.
“I try to be in the middle of all of it,” Arcia mentioned.
