Ender Inciarte made some history on Friday night. Then, he made even more history. In fact, the Atlanta Braves outfielder set some team history on three different occasions when he played against the San Diego Padres. That's because it was the team's first ever game at their new stadium, Suntrust Park, and somebody had to be the first to accomplish certain feats. Inciarte simply decided to be the first to accomplish almost every feat.
Making history over and over again
The first order of business for the Braves on Friday night was recording an out.
With Julio Teheran on the mound, Padres center fielder Manuel Margot came to the plate. When he made contact with the ball, he sent it to his counterpart in center field, Inciarte, who made the catch, recording the first defensive out in the history of SunTrust Park.
Teheran made it out of the top of the first inning without surrendering a hit, setting the stage for the first hit to recorded by the Braves. Inciarte came up to the plate to face Jhoulys Chacin. He sent a hard grounder to third base and despite best defensive efforts, beat out the throw at first to reach on an infield single, the first hit in the history of SunTrust Park. He wound up scoring on a RBI double, the first run in the history of the stadium as well.
He wasn't done yet, either. In the bottom of the sixth, Inciarte came to the plate with a runner on, and a 3-2 lead Braves lead to protect. With Craig Stammen on the mound, the outfielder saw a pitch he liked and crushed it deep to right field, over the head of Hunter Renfroe and past the grass and the warning track. Sure enough, Inciarte made his presence felt once again, hitting the first home run SunTrust Park has ever seen.
For good measure, he caught the final out as well, sending Atlanta fans home with a 1-0 record in the new digs.
Welcome to SunTrust Park
Recording the victory was obviously the most important thing for the Atlanta Braves team on the field. For the organization, however, it was just as important that fans had a good time and enjoyed a seamless first experience at the new ballpark.
By all accounts, it was a success. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, team legend Hank Aaron, and former president Jimmy Carter were all smiles throughout the evening. Retired numbers were unveiled once more, team legends were introduced, there was a sellout crowd, and traffic concerns before the game proved to be unfounded. Turner Field will be missed, but SunTrust Park is off to a good start thanks to Ender Inciarte.
