ST. LOUIS – Most hitters would be happy to have just one home-run binge in their career like the two that Justin Upton has had already this season.

  But it’s not simply the 12 homers in April and eight homers already in August that makes Upton’s power binges this season so extraordinary. After all, the guy did hit  31 homers a couple of seasons ago, so everyone knew he had serious power.

  No, what makes his power surges this season so unusual is what took place between them. A lot of not much. That is to say, in terms of power.

  Upton hit a two-run homer in Thursday’s 6-2 loss to the Cardinals , in his first game in five days. He had rested along with a few other regulars for the final game of the last homestand Sunday, and after the team’s day off Monday, he missed the two-game series against the Mets with a back strain.

  The homer gave the Braves a brief 2-1 lead (Paul Maholm coughed it up in the bottom of the inning) and gave Upton a .375 average (27-for-72) with six doubles, eight homers and 17 RBIs in his past 18 games.

  The manhas eight homers and 16 RBIs in 16 August games, after totaling four homers and 29 RBIs in 74 games during May, June and July.

 “I’m seeing the ball pretty good, I’m getting pretty good pitches,” he said after Thursday’s game. “That’s about it.”

  Upton hit .302 with 12 homers and 18 RBI in his first  23 games this season, and has hit .349 with eight homers and 16 RBIs in the 16 games he's played this month.

  In between those binges, he hit .243 with four homers and 30 RBIs in 77 games.

  Another way to view his remarkably disparate stretches: He had a .734 slugging percentage in April, and has slugged .794 so far in August. In the three months between, Upton slugged a combined .345, with a low of .280 in June and a high of .427 in July.

  Which brings us to his brother, Braves center fielder B.J. Upton, who has slugged .275 or lower in four of five months, including .261 with no homers so far in August.

   B.J. hit two homers in a June 15 game against San Francisco, and hasn’t homered in 40 games (124 at-bats) since. He has a .266 on-base percentage and also a .266 slugging percentage in that span, with 11 walks and 47 strikeouts.

  In his past 10 games, he’s 0-for-25 with no extra-base hits, one walk and 12 strikeouts.

Braves Sunday lineup

1. Schafer lf
2. EJohnson 2b
3. Freeman 1b
4. JUpton rf
5. Laird c
6. Terdoslavich lf
7. Simmons ss
8. Janish 3b
9. Minor p

  • Why Elliot? A lot of folks wondered why the Braves bothered to claim Elliot Johnson off release waivers from the Royals, why a 29-year-old with a .179 average and .458 OPS in 79 games for Kansas City this season was any better than the rookie, Phil Gosselin, who did OK  in a few games in his brief callup with the Braves.

  I could say that we saw why last night, when Johnson got a couple of hits in his first game for the Braves. But that would be simplistic and a ridiculously small sample size, especially considering he snapped an 0-for-31 with his single in his first plate appearance for the Braves.

  In fact, Johnson had been 1-for-51 (.020) with a single, three walks and 17 strikeouts in 32 major league games over a two-month span before going 2-for-4 Thursday. He had been seriously struggling before the Braves plucked him off waivers.

  But what most of us hadn’t bothered to do, what with all the news going on with the Braves the past few days, was look a little deeper into Johnson’s performance this season and see what the Braves might have found at all intriguing about the switch-hitter, other than the fact he plays a solid defensive second base and stole 14 bases without getting caught this season.

  Here’s what I found crunching numbers today: T.S. – that’s my nickname that won’t catch on for Elliot Johnson -- went 25-for-90 (.278) with two doubles, a triple, two homers and nine stolen bases in 34 games from April 30 to June 16, including six two-hit games and a three-hit game with a homer and three RBIs on June 13 at Tampa Bay against his former team.

  Johnson went 7-for-16 with three extra-base hits and four RBIs in that four-game series against the Rays June 13-16.

  Safe to say, Paul Janish has never had any stretch of hitting like that, and Gosselin likely wasn’t ready to, either.

  So he can do some things. At least, a lot more things than I figured when I first glanced at that .179/.218/.241 line with the Royals this season.

  “He’s a nice piece to have,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, who talked to Royals manager Ned Yost about him this week. “I mean, your everyday guy will be off the DL on Wednesday, you know, (Dan) Uggla. We forgot about Danny. And so that’s your second baseman. But he (Johnson) is a nice piece to have in your inventory and on your bench. I talked to Ned Yost (Thursday) and he loves him. He goes, ‘Fredi, you’ll be amazed.’ He’s 14-for-14 in stolen bases. He can play anywhere on the field. You get good reports. He’s an athletic guy.  A good National League player, it sounds like.”

 • Etc. Since Luis Ayala returned from the DL, he has made 17 appearances, recording anywhere from one to six outs. Only twice in those 17 did he get through an appearance without allowing a walk or hit. And one of those was last night, when he faced one batter (strikeout) and threw a wild pitch that let in a run….

  Matt Holliday’s career line vs Braves: 55 games, .333/.402/.565 with 22 doubles, two triples, eight homers, 41 RBIs in 216 at-bats. Carlos Beltran’s career line vs. Braves: 107 games, .301/.393/.549 with 28 doubles, five triples, 20 homers, 64 RBIs in 395 at-bats.

  Both of the above are Similar to Chipper’s legendary performance level vs. Mets, just in a lot fewer games (and a lot fewer crucial-to-playoff-race games)Chipper’s career line vs. Mets: 245 games, .309/.406/.543 with 46 doubles, four triples, 49 homers, 159 RBIs in 858 at-bats….

  Opposing batters vs. Paul Maholm with RISP: .346 (37-for-107) with 16 XBH, 12 walks, .421 OBP, .570 slugging percentage.

  Opposing batters vs. Julio Teheran with RISP:  .129 (24-for-125) with eight XBH, 11 walks, .274 OBP, .336 slugging.

 • Since we're in St. Louis, here's one from some fellas who are mostly from around these parts. Wilco doing a great one that you can hear by clicking here.

“I’M THE MAN WHO LOVES YOU” by Wilco

All I can see is black and white
and white and pink with blades of blue
that lay between the words I think
on a page I was meaning to send her
You I couldn't tell if it bring my heart
the way I wanted when I started
writing this letter to you

If I could you know I would
just hold your hand and you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

All I can be is a busy sea of
spinning wheels and hands that feel
for stones to throw and feet that run but
they come back home, make no difference
ever known, make no difference
ever known to me

If I could you know I would
just hold your hand and you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

All I can see is black and white
and white and pink with blades of blue
that lay between the words I think
on a page I was meaning to send her
You I couldn't tell if it bring my heart
the way I wanted when I started
writing this letter to you

If I could you know I would
just hold your hand and you'd understand
If I could you know I would
just hold your hand and you'd understand
If I could you know I would
just hold your hand and you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you
I'm the man who loves you