NEW YORK — B.J. Upton was out of the lineup Thursday for the third time in six games, and the slumping center fielder is flirting with some dubious franchise history with his league-worst .115 batting average in August.
Upton hasn’t had a hit in more than a week and was 7-for-61 in 20 games during August before Thursday, with two homers, four RBIs, 22 strikeouts and a .260 OBP and .246 slugging percentage.
He was hitting .204 with nine homers, 31 RBIs, a .286 OBP and team-high 157 strikeouts for the season.
The last Brave to hit as low as .115 in a month with 60 or more at-bats was Dan Uggla, who had a .115 average in July 2012. The only other Braves player to hit .115 or below in the Atlanta era was Bob Uecker, who had a .114 average in June 1967.
The last National League player to hit below .115 in 60 or more at-bats in August was Mike Matheny, who hit .109 for the Cardinals in August 2003.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez has begun playing Emilio Bonifacio more in center. Initially he played him there once every four games after getting the versatile veteran from the Cubs in a July 31 trade, but Bonifacio has started three of the past six games in center. He also got a start in right field Saturday at Cincinnati when Jason Heyward had a rest day.
