Jose Bautista received plenty of cheers when his name was announced at SunTrust Park in his first game with the Atlanta Braves. It was a game the rest of the team would like to forget, but it was an acceptable beginning to Bautista's tenure in Atlanta.
Bautista made a few plays on defense, highlighted by a double play in the sixth. He also hit a double in his first at bat. Yet, he was on the wrong end of a couple plays that help the San Francisco Giants build up a lead off Mike Foltynewicz and win 9-4.
“I thought he looked alright,” manager Brian Snitker said of Bautista, adding that he was making good decisions in the infield.
Catcher Tyler Flowers spent time with Bautista in the minors during his rehab stint. He knows he’s capable of making defensive plays and saw flashes of it Friday night.
“He can play. He’s an athlete,” Flowers said.
It was the first game Bautista had played since Oct. 1, 2017. The Braves signed him on a minor league contract on April 18, and he spent time in Florida getting ready for the season before playing in Triple-A Gwinnett and subsequently the Braves on Friday.
Bautista’s SunTrust Park debut came on the same day as outfield prospect sensation Ronald Acuna Jr's first game at the club's home. Bautista, mostly known for his bat flips and time in the Blue Jays' outfield, played third base on and off again throughout his career.
His first play at third came in the top of the first when Brandon Belt popped one up into shallow left and the two-time Gold Glove winner tracked it with ease.
His first at bat was moments after Freddie Freeman homered in the top of the first to give Atlanta a 2-0 lead. Bautista nearly homered himself for the first time since Sept. 27, but the ball hit off the wall and he settled for a double. He struck out in his second and third at bats and flew out in his fourth.
“He didn’t even hit that ball very well and it almost went out to the deepest part of the park,” Flowers said. “He’s a good hitter. He’s a professional hitter. He’s got an idea out there. I think today was a good day to get that hit out of the way for him and hopefully settle in and be used to being the guy we’re used to seeing.”
The Giants tied the game in the second on a Gregor Blanco triple that drove in Brandon Crawford and Austin Jackson. Alen Hanson slapped a full-count pitch right by Bautista’s out-stretched glove, but he was a step too far from the base to make a play, and the Giants took a 3-2 lead.
He tried to make a play on a ground ball hit his way by Buster Posey and throw out Hanson who went home. The initial call was out, but a review showed Hanson’s hand scraped the plate before Tyler Flowers could get the tag. It was overturned. It was the fourth run in an eventual six-run inning for the Giants.
“That play at home, just inches away from being a play there. A good decision on his part, I thought,” Snitker said.
He was able to make the highlight reel with a 5-4-3 double play to get Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey out and end the sixth inning.
But in the seventh, Posey chopped one towards Bautista who couldn’t make the play in time. Brandon Belt, the next batter, crushed a breaking ball off Jesse Biddle to put the Giants up 8-3.
The Braves hope Bautista can settle in at third base and buy time for Austin Riley, the highly-touted infield prospect currently in Double-A.
