Maybe Travis d’Arnaud can take Will Smith’s place at the Academy Awards next year. The Braves catcher feigned injury in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s game against Washington, crumbling to the ground after being struck by Dee Strange-Gordon’s feathery soft 52-mph “fastball.”
D’Arnaud’s hilarious reaction to being plunked by Strange-Gordon in his first career pitching appearance provided some much-needed levity to a game that stopped being interesting in about the fourth inning, with Atlanta bullying the Nats in a 16-4 rout at Truist Park. A two-time All-Star and former NL batting champ, Strange-Gordon seemed to enjoy himself on the mound, topping out at 80 mph on the gun while also lobbing in a 34-mph eephus Matt Olson was too flummoxed to even swing at.
Once considered a novelty, teams now see strategic value in having position players pitch, saving the bullpen from further wear and tear in games seen as non-competitive (Atlanta held a 13-3 advantage when Strange-Gordon was summoned by manager Dave Martinez). With teams dipping into their bullpens earlier than usual, don’t be surprised to see this tactic employed on a fairly regular basis this year, at least early on with starters still building up their pitch counts following a lockout-shortened spring training.
D’Arnaud had an eventful night at the plate, reaching base in four of six plate appearances with three runs scored. He could have made it four, but was gunned down at home to end the eighth inning. In his pitching debut, Strange-Gordon yielded two hits (including an Ozzie Albies homer), three walks, an HBP and three earned runs over one highly entertaining inning (28 pitches).
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