Watch: Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia stuns the stadium with a massive home run
The Atlanta Braves put on a clinic against division rivals the Washington Nationals in the nation's capital last night. They lit up the sky with five homers and beat the Nats 10-4. Two nights ago, the Braves also uncorked five home runs in a 9-4 victory against the same opposition.
The reigning world champions are now the hottest team in baseball — at least in terms of streaks — as they have won 13 straight games and have pulled themselves from the abyss to sit in second place in the National League East.
The Braves have claimed the wild card spot of the National League, and it seems like no one can stop them at the moment. They've blasted 10 homers at Nationals Park in the last two days. One of them was off middle infielder Orlando Arcia's bat.
Arcia crushed this one. 💪
#HyundaiHighlight https://t.co/xolVXeH5Ht
"Arcia crushed this one. 💪 #HyundaiHighlight" - Atlanta Braves
Arcia, who was filling in for injured All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies, blasted a 413-foot homer to deep left. This gave the Braves an 8-3 lead in the top of the sixth inning. The Venezuelan will fill the void for at least six weeks after Albies was diagnosed with a foot fracture.
The Atlanta Braves are dominating left, right, and center
The Atlanta Braves are three wins away from breaking their longest-winning streak in the modern era. The 2000 edition of the team went on a 15-game win streak during that season. The unprecedented win-streak by the present-day Braves has caught the attention of the teams in the league.
Sound the Alarm 🚨 🚨 🚨 The @Braves have won this many straight!!! 👇 https://t.co/ML4cfZLwJU
"Sound the Alarm 🚨 🚨 🚨 The @Braves have won this many straight!!! 👇" - Paul Byrd
The team has obliterated the opposition, outscoring them 93-39 for a grand total of +54 run differential during this stint. They've outscored opponents by an average of 4.15 runs per game and have scored 7.15 per game themselves.
Rookie Michael Harris II has been a revelation for the Braves, as he is batting .317 with an OPS of .878 and two homers in just 17 major league games so far.
The Braves have also mashed 32 homers against 10 opposition homers. They have a streak of five games of at least one homer, four games of at least three homers, and three games of at least four homers. Their pitching remains respectable with a 2.78 ERA in this win streak.
The title holders have finally come to life. The race for the National League playoffs will become more interesting down the stretch.