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.