Church starts in Braves debut

DENVER — Four hours after Ryan Church arrived from New York to join his new team Saturday, the former Mets outfielder was thrust into the Braves lineup, batting three spots behind a player he idolized in high school.

Hint: He’s the one who’s booed more than anyone else by Mets fans.

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AP

New outfielder Ryan Church chats with his childhood idol Chipper Jones before makes his debut with the Braves.

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Chipper Jones.

“I grew up in the ’90s and was a big Braves fan,” said Church, 30, who watched games on TBS while growing up in Santa Barbara, Calif. “I’d never tell him, but he was my favorite player. It’s cool now to be playing with him. … I loved watching the Braves.”

The Braves got Church in a whirlwind trade Friday for right fielder Jeff Francoeur, who flew to New York on Friday night and started for the Mets on Saturday. The teams didn’t even began discussing the deal until Wednesday.

Church grounded out to second base in his first at-bat Saturday night against Colorado. It was worth noting he did so on a 3-1 count, as Church is known for working counts in “quality at-bats.”

He has swung at fewer than 20 percent of first pitches this season, while the man he was traded for has swung at a major league-high 46.8 percent of first pitches.

Francoeur’s lack of plate discipline contributed to his struggles, as pitchers around baseball followed the scouting reports that said to exploit his overaggressiveness.

Church began Saturday with a .273 career average, .345 on-base percentage and .444 slugging percentage in 504 games. Francoeur had a .266 average, .208 OBP and .424 slugging in 631 games.

Francoeur has a stronger arm, while Church might have an edge in outfield range.

Church was hitting .310 against right-handers and .167 against lefties, and manager Bobby Cox plans to have the left-handed hitter share right-field duties with Matt Diaz, who has hit .345 against lefties and .247 against righties. Church said he would have no problem sharing time.

“It’s all about winning,” said Church, who teased friends on the Mets that he was moving up to third place (the Braves led the fourth-place Mets by 1-1/2 games).

“You can’t bitch and moan about playing time. Bobby’s going to find plenty of playing time for everybody,” he said. “I’m just happy and excited to be here, and I’m looking forward to hitting in this lineup and playing behind all these pitchers.

“That’s one thing I said yesterday to some guys in New York — I’m glad I don’t have to face these [Braves pitchers] anymore. It wasn’t fun.”

Medical report

Shortstop Yunel Escobar (strained lower back) was out of the lineup Saturday for the second consecutive game, and first baseman Casey Kotchman was sidelined with flu-like symptoms

Cox said Escobar had improved some and might be ready to play Sunday in the last game before the All-Star break.

Kotchman and Diaz have been sick for several days, and Diaz played anyway on Friday after Francoeur was traded and the Braves were shorthanded.