Arcia Stays Hot as Atlanta Braves Win Fourth Straight

The Atlanta Braves have cut the Philadelphia Phillies lead in half over the course of the last week, and Orlando Arcia's hot bat is a big reason why.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia was 2/3 with a home run on Friday night in a 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins. / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves came back late from being down 3-0 to beat the Miami Marlins 5-3. 

The comeback came in part from a strong offensive night by the struggling Orlando Arcia and newly re-acquired Jorge Soler breaking through for the first time since coming back to Atlanta.

The Marlins jumped up 2-0 in the first inning and led 3-0 following the top of the third and led until the top of the eighth.

Slowly but surely, the Braves chipped away at the lead and then broke through to get on top.

With the Braves being no-hit up to this point, Arcia got them on the board with a solo shot to right-center field in the bottom of the fifth to get his 11th home run of the season. 

Soarrrrriinnn, flyyyyiiinnn🪽 pic.twitter.com/QVif1hWoOZ

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) August 3, 2024

That was Arcia’s fourth home run in his last seven games. Before July 28, he had had just one home run since June 2. He also extended his hitting streak to 13 games. 

Austin Riley drove in a run on a ground out to get the Braves within a run, and the 3-2 Marlins lead would hold until the bottom of the eighth.

On his first hit since he came back to the Braves, Soler drove in a run on an RBI single to tie the game 3-3. 

Jorge Soler's first RBI in a @Braves uniform since 2021 and it's a big one‼️ pic.twitter.com/FItkdYU0Ok

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) August 3, 2024

These are the type of moments the Braves brought him back for. 

“Look, I think everyone knows what he’s capable of and what he brings to the team,” Arcia said via a translator. “Thankfully, he was able to drive that run in and we came out the victors tonight.” 

Marcell Ozuna gave the Brave the lead with a sac-fly and Arcia picked up his second RBI of the game to cap off scoring 5-3. 

Rookie starter Spencer Schwellenbach settled in after early struggles to give the Braves seven strong innings of work. In his last three starts, including Friday night, he has 29 strikeouts to zero walks. 

Nights like these reflect how he’s developing as a pitcher. He got into trouble early and found a way to limit the damage and still have a good outing, allowing the Braves to come back and win.  

As a result, they pick up a big win and gain ground on the struggling Phillies to get to within five games of the top of the National League East after being 9.5 games back just a week ago. The Phillies got blown out late Friday night 10-2 in Seattle, their fifth-straight loss.

They’re getting key players who had been struggling all season starting to contribute. You can’t gain 4.5 games if that’s not happening. Keep it going and the division race will continue to get interesting. 

The Braves look to win their series against the Marlins on Saturday. Grant Holmes will take the mound to make his second career start. First pitch is set for 7:20 p.m. at Truist Park.