Less than 24 hours after rookie catcher Clint Sammons had a three-hit, three-RBI performance Thursday, the Braves dropped veteran backup catcher Corky Miller from the 25-man roster.

Miller, hitting .093 in 54 at-bats, was designated for assignment on Friday by the Braves, who have 10 days to trade, release or send him to the minors if he clears waivers.

Sammons, a former Parkview High and University of Georgia standout, had as many home runs (one) and RBI on Thursday as Miller had all season. He is expected to be Brian McCann's backup the rest of the season.

The Braves waited to make the Miller decision after McCann, recovering from a concussion, was examined Friday and cleared to pinch-hit or catch in an emergency situation during the weekend series against Milwaukee. Designating Miller for assignment opened a roster spot for pitcher Chuck James, who was recalled from Class AAA Richmond to start Friday's game.

McCann took batting practice Friday for the first time since his Sunday home-plate collision with Shane Victorino on Sunday at Philadelphia, which left the All-Star catcher with a mild concussion.

"I felt good hitting," said McCann, who also caught bullpen sessions for more than 30 minutes in the afternoon heat at Turner Field.

Sammons, 25, is expected to catch the three games against the Brewers before McCann returns to regular duties Monday in the opener of a six-game trip to San Francisco and Arizona.

McCann said he's eager to get back in the lineup, even though Braves officials unofficially conceded this week they were out of the postseason picture. On Tuesday, the Braves traded cleanup hitter Mark Teixeira, who led them with 78 RBIs and was tied with McCann for the team home-run lead with 20.

"We're not out of it mathematically," McCann said.

The Braves were in fourth place in the National League East, nine games behind division leader Philadelphia before Friday and 9 1/2 games behind wild-card leader Milwaukee.

"Maybe we can put together an unexpected run," McCann said earnestly. "Colorado won 20 out of 21 last year [at the end of the regular season and in the first two rounds of the playoffs]. I'm pretty sure if we do that we'll be right back in it."

Sammons deluged by well-wishers

Sammons' first major-league home run Thursday came in his second start of the season for the Braves, a two-run shot in the sixth inning that proved to be the game-winning hit.

"It felt like I was floating the whole way around the bases," said Sammons, whose buzz continued long after he left the ballpark. "Last night in bed, I was thinking about it and it was hard to even picture it in my head. My mind was racing."

And his phone was ringing. And ringing.

"Oh, man, my phone was still ringing today," said Sammons, who estimated he got more than 25 text messages. "It was neat. That's the fun part of this."

He hit .237 with 18 doubles, one homer and 22 RBIs in 81 games this season at Richmond, Sammons' fourth full season of minor-league ball and first at the Class AAA level.

He's regarded as an outstanding defensive catcher, and the Braves wanted him to spend most of this season continuing his development and handling pitchers on a everyday basis at Richmond, rather than playing once a week behind McCann.

Outside of his own family, perhaps no one was more pleased for Sammons in his breakout performance Thursday than Jeff Francoeur, his former Parkview High baseball and football teammate.

Francoeur was a junior defensive back and wide receiver when Sammons was the senior quarterback of a state-championship team at Parkview.

"That first home run is so surreal," Francoeur said. "You're just floating. And the thing was, that hit [Sammons' homer] pretty much won the game. I was just so happy for him."