He did it again! d'Arnaud continues tear with 4th homer in last 2 games 

ATLANTA -- Travis d'Arnaud Appreciation Weekend continued as the beloved Braves catcher homered yet again in a 5-2 win over the Rangers on Saturday night at Truist Park.

“It’s pretty cool,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said. “That was the first three-homer game I’ve seen in the big leagues, yesterday. None of these are cheap either. He had another big one tonight to give us some insurance. It’s been great. He’s obviously an amazing player.”

d’Arnaud opened this three-game series by hitting a grand slam to cap a three-homer performance on Friday night. He added to his power surge by hitting a two-run homer that gave the Braves a couple insurance runs in the eighth inning of Saturday night’s win over the defending World Series champions.

The 35-year-old catcher entered the series without a homer, but he has now homered in four of his past five at-bats. He drew a pair of walks and got hit with a pitch in his first three plate appearances on Saturday. A groundout in Friday’s eighth inning marked the only time he hasn’t reached safely through his first eight plate appearances of this series.

“Home runs come in bunches,” d’Arnaud said. “But the main thing is to keep it as simple as possible. So, I’m going to stick to that.”

d’Arnaud might seem mild-mannered when speaking to the media. But he’s had an authoritative voice within the Braves clubhouse since he arrived in 2020. At the same time, he is one of the team’s top smack talkers, especially with his good friend Olson.

So, did he become more chirpy after the three-homer game?

“I don’t know if it was possible for him to get more chirpy,” Olson said with a laugh.

d’Arnaud started the weekend by joining Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Johnny Bench as the only catchers in MLB history with two three-homer games. With Saturday’s homer, he became just the sixth different Braves player since 2000 to hit four home runs within a two-game span.

The others were: Marcell Ozuna (Sept. 1-2, 2020), Chipper Jones (April 17-18, 2008 and July 6-7, 2003), Mark Teixeira (Aug. 19-20, 2007), Javy Lopez (June 7-8, 2003) and Andruw Jones (Sept. 7-9, 2002).

“He’s had really nice swings, too,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s not overswinging. Chipper used to talk about guys playing at 85 percent and not 100 percent and that’s kind of what he does. He’s got a big bat and he gets that thing going and the ball was jumping again today.”

d’Arnaud is one of the many players who have helped the Braves produce an MLB-best .737 winning percentage despite having three All-Stars on the injured list. Spencer Strider made one healthy start before suffering a season-ending elbow injury. Ozzie Albies has been sidelined since breaking his right big toe on Monday.

Still, the Braves have won six straight, including each of the past five against the past two World Series champs (Astros and Rangers).

And oh yeah, the Braves have been without 2023 All-Star catcher Sean Murphy since he strained his left oblique on Opening Day. But with d’Arnaud, who was an All-Star in 2022, the Braves have been just fine behind the plate.

“The good thing about this club is we don’t get into the ‘Woe is me’ type of thing when we lose somebody,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “They don’t sit around and feel sorry for themselves.”

d’Arnaud won’t be in the starting lineup for Sunday’s series finale. The veteran has certainly earned a chance to rest. Along with being this weekend’s offensive star, he has guided Chris Sale and Charlie Morton through a pair of strong starts. Sale allowed three runs over seven innings on Friday and Morton surrendered two runs over six innings on Saturday.

The Braves have a special catching duo with Murphy and d’Arnaud.

When d’Arnaud missed most of last season’s first month recovering from a concussion, Murphy thrived. Chadwick Tromp has provided some valuable assistance. But d’Arnaud has accepted the responsibility of picking up the slack with Murphy sidelined this year.

“d’Arnaud is the same guy all the time,” Olson said. “He’s ready to go whenever. It’s a luxury to have a guy like that. Murph goes down and you have another amazing starting catcher.”