Some might say it’s wrong, silly even, to focus attention on two at-bats so early in a game the Braves ended up losing 5-1.

   So let’s do it.

   The two at-bats in question came in the second inning Monday night in what was then a scoreless game.

   Brian McCann led off the inning with a double and advanced on a Chris Johnson groundout to the right side. So far, so good. A run was in the process of being manufactured, and it would have given Atlanta a 1-0 lead against Cole Hamels on a night when the Philly left-hander was in peak form.

   But then the assembly line broke down, the way it did a lot early in the season, before the Braves started hitting at the .290-plus clip with runners in scoring position that they carried over the past two months.

   It broke down in all-too-familiar fashion, with consecutive strikeouts by Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton.

   “We didn’t get a productive out there,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said, “and maybe that changes the whole complexion of the game, us getting a run there. But that didn’t happen.”

 ( Blogmeister addendum: A couple hours after I wrote this, the Braves announced Uggla is on the DL to have Lasik eye surgery. Here's the story I wrote before tonight's game. Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog....)

   To be fair, Hamels was really good last night. Nine strikeouts in a six-hit complete game. Nasty stuff.

   But this was pretty much the worst-case scenario when batting Uggla and B.J. back-to-back. These guys whiff an awful lot (Uggla’s 146 strikeouts leads the NL, B.J.’s 115 is seventh), and have two of the lowest batting averages in the majors (Uggla’s .186 is, in fact, the lowest), along with two of the lowest averages with runners in scoring position (B.J.’s .096 is, in fact, the lowest; Uggla’s .141 is the third-lowest).

   This is the part where we should note that Uggla has 21 homers and 62 walks this season, and B.J. is 10-for-32 (.313) in August, with several other hard-hit balls that have been caught, including his innig-ending double-play grounder to short in the seventh inning Monday. So it’s not as if we’re just looking for the negative here, good people. Not at all.

   It’s just that, B.J. Upton is now a majors-worst 1-for-41 with 19 strikeouts with runners in scoring position and two outs, and that’s really rough. He’s also a majors-worst 7-for-73 (.096) in all RISP situations.

  Uggla isn’t much better with RISP -- 12-f0r-85 (.141) -- or  with RISP and two outs -- 4-for-37 with 15 strikeouts, albeit with a couple of homers.

   People wonder why Chris Johnson hit near the bottom of the order all season. Well, there’s one part of the answer – having him down there gave the Braves lineup more balance. Johnson, the NL batting leader, hit fifth last night and had two more hits, including a two-out, ninth-inning double that drove in the Braves’ only run, after Justin Upton led off with a double.

   Having Uggla, B.J. Upton and Andrelton Simmons (.285 OBP) in the 6-7-8 spots, as was the case last night, is hardly ideal in my opinon. But if you’re playing Upton every day – and with only Paul Janish as a backup second baseman, you almost have to – then there aren’t a whole lot of better ways to assemble the lineup, are there?

  Let us know (in comments below) how you’d do it, assuming you are going to play B.J. and Uggla every day, or most days (hey, I know a lot of you will say Schafer in center, but with B.J. finally showing some recent progress, and in the first year of a $75 million contract, I don’t see that happening during the stretch drive before the postseason).

   Not to dwell on the negative, when the team just finished a 14-game winning streak and is in complete control of the NL East and ranks near the top of the league in almost every offensive category. But here’s a few more stats about Uggla and B.J. Upton, which should help to underscore just how solid Braves pitching has been, and how good others in the lineup have been in recent weeks and months, to overcome the lack of production from a couple of guys they were counting on to do a lot more.

   The home fans can’t be blamed if they’ve lost patience, if you consider:

    In 53 home games this season, Uggla has hit .159 (29-for-182) with four homers, 18 RBIs, a .274 OBP and .335 slugging percentage (he’s hit .209/.335/.437 on road).

    And in 47 home games, B.J. Uptonhas hit .164 (23-for-140), with 14 RBIs, 17 walks, 52 strikeouts, a .255 OBP and .329 slugging percentage (.213/.289/.290 on road).

   Breaking down some other Uggla numbers: In counts after getting behind 0-1, he’s 22-for-192 (.115) with 18 walks, 100 strikeouts and a .197 OBP.

  After hitting a season-high .250 with a .394 OBP and .452 slugging percentage in June, Uggla hit .186/.273/.454 in July and so far in August has hit .054 (2-for-37) with a .234 OBP and .054 slugging percentage in 11 games.

  With runners on base, he’s hit .143 (18-for-126) with two homers, 13 walks, 50 strikeouts and a .214 slugging percentage.

   B.J. Upton had two homers in a June 15 game against the Giants. He hasn’t homered in 34 games since then while hitting .226 (26-for-110) with six RBIs, 10 walks, 41 strikeouts, a .290 OBP and .300 slugging percentage.

  In his past 20 games, Upton has hit .242 (16-for-66) with two RBIs, two walks and 27 strikeouts, including 0-for-11 with no walks and six strikeouts in his past four.

  In close-and-late situations, he’s hit .161 (10-for-62) with three walks and 25 strikeouts.

  • More Heyward: Two of the six hits against the lefty Hamels came off the bat of Jason Heyward, who’s batted .303 with 22 extra-base hits (eight homers), 25 RBIs, 37 runs, a .382 OBP and .482 slugging percentage in his past 57 games.

  That includes .393 (22-for-56) with six extra-base hits, seven walks, a .469 OBP and a .571 slugging percentage in his past 15 games, or basically since he moved into the leadoff spot.

  Oh, and speaking of Chris Johnson, he’s now 38-for-100 against lefties, with a .401 OBP and .520 slugging (he’s .322/.361/.458 in 264 at-bats vs. righties)

 • Tonight’s matchup: Kris Medlen (9-10, 3.85) will face Phillies righty Ethan Martin, who’s making his third major league start and second against Braves.

  Martin got knocked around by the Braves for six runs, eight hits and three walks in 4-1/3 innings in his debut Aug. 2 at Philadelphia. He gave up two homers in that 6-4 loss, which also came against Medlen.

  McCann went 2-for-3 with a homer against him, Jason Heyward was 2-for-3, and Johnson had a homer in three at-bats.

  Martin rebounded by allowing just four hits and one run in five innings of a win Thursday against the Cubs, though he gave up another homer and three walks. This will be his first road start in the majors.

   Medlen is 3-0 with a 4.26 ERA and .239 opponents’ average in his past three starts, after going 0-3 with an 8.59 ERA and .364 OA in his previous three. He had 14 strikeouts with two walks in 13 innings over his past two starts, at Philadelphia and Washington on the last road trip.

   The Phillies have been a Medlen nemesis, that last win notwithstanding. He’s 2-2 with a 5.85 ERA in 16 career games (five starts) against them, including 1-2 with a 6.61 ERA in three starts this season.

   Medlen will again avoid facing the DL’d Ryan Howard (5-for-10 with two homers against him), and also Delmon Young, who is 5-for-8 with two homers against him, but was designated for assignment by the Phillies.  Carlos Ruiz is 6-for-9 against him, Domonic Brown is 3-for-6 with a homer, and Chase Utley is 4-for-11 with a homer.

  Medlen is 9-6 with a 3.26 ERA in 19 night games, compared with 0-4 and a 6.95 ERA in four day games.

   He’s4-5 with a 3.23 ERA in 11 home starts (4.38 ERA in 12 road starts) and has allowed only three homers in 64 innings at Turner Field this season, compared to 13 homers on 74 innings on the road. Medlen has 48 Ks with 15 walks in home games.

   We'll close with a fine tune by the mighty Greg Dulli and his Twilight Singers, which you can listen to by clicking here.

“GET LUCKY” by The Twilight Singers

Careful when you look into my eyes-
you'll turn to stone
And I am not that strong to let you go
And does it scare you
when I look the other way
And thru the walls into your very soul?

I get lucky sometimes
I get lucky sometimes

Shakes me down for secrets
in the light of day, does she-
But I am not so dumb to let you know
Whispers and deceivers
come divide the harmony
But I still have one card I've yet to show

I get lucky sometimes
I get lucky sometimes

Once you know the way down
the path belongs to you...

Tell me, tell me
why don't you tell me 'bout
the reasons why you're lying in
the dark when there's a
monster in your head
And tell me, tell me
don't run away to buy more
complication, find the time of day
and the sun will shine again

I get lucky sometimes...