Escobar sits with strained right hamstring

New York — It took a sore hamstring to slow hot-hitting Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar, who was limited to pinch-hitting duties in Sunday’s series finale against the New York Mets.

Escobar strained his right hamstring while scoring the tying run from second base on Jeff Francoeur’s eighth-inning single Saturday in a 3-2 win to open a doubleheader split with the Mets.

He didn’t play in the nightcap and grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning Sunday, snapping his 11-game hitting streak.

Escobar was expected to be back in the lineup for Tuesday’s home-series opener against Philadelphia, after the Braves’ day off Monday.

He’s hit .331 (40-for-121) in his past 38 games with four homers, 15 RBIs and an impressive .935 on base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS), boosting his average to .288 with 10 homers and 60 RBIs in his first full season in the majors.

Escobar hit .301 with a .392 on-base percentage in 46 games before Sunday.

Recently Escobar, 25, was upset after being mentioned in a published report as a player the Braves might consider trading. He took that to mean the Braves must be disappointed with his play.

In actuality, the speculation was fueled primarily by the fact Escobar would be sought by plenty of teams if the Braves dangled him this winter.

In any case, Escobar probably needn’t worry for the immediate future. Braves officials think he’s had a solid season, has only scratched the surface of his talent, and has the potential to become an All-Star shortstop.

He’s very strong, with line-drive power to all fields and a cannon for an arm. And, as manager Bobby Cox said, “he has great hands.”

In addition — and no small matter — Escobar is affordable for at least a few more years. He won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2010 season.

A knock on him has been the excitable on-field demeanor that’s boiled over a few times. But the Braves have been careful not to come down on him hard in those instances, since they don’t want to curb the passion with which he plays.

Chipper maintains lead

Chipper Jones went out with a bang at Shea Stadium, racking up three hits to maintain his lead in the major league batting race.

In his last game at his favorite place to hit on the road, Jones gave the iron-lunged Shea denizens plenty of opportunity to boo the man like to call “Lar-ry” and assorted terms that can’t be published in a family newspaper.

He went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .365, five points ahead of St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, who was 2-for-4 in a loss to Pittsburgh.

With two weeks (12 games) left in the season, at age 36, Jones appears poised to win what would be his first National League batting title.

The Braves start a six-game homestand Tuesday, which includes series against the Phillies and Mets. At Turner Field, Jones has a .405 average that’s 40 points higher than the next-best home average in the majors, Pujols’ .365.

He doesn’t seem as excited about the possibility as he did last September, when he was in the race before falling off the past in the last few days of the season.

Jones said that’s because last year, the Braves harbored playoff hopes until the last week of the season. This year, they fell from contention early.

“It’s always pretty cool, always exciting,” Jones said of the batting race. “But it would make it easier if you had something to play for. Not being in the hunt for the playoffs kind of takes the fun out of it.

“But we can play spoiler. I don’t necessarily like playing spoiler, but that’s just the hole that we dug.”

With three hits Sunday including an RBI double, Jones finished with a .313 average, 19 homers and 55 RBIs in 88 games at Shea, which is being dismantled after the season as the Mets move into a new ballpark next door.

Jones’ homer and RBI totals at Shea are his highest at any stadium outside Atlanta.