Bonifacio starts third in a row in place of B.J. Upton
WASHINGTON — Emilio Bonifacio made his third consecutive start in center field Tuesday in place of B.J. Upton, the first time that Upton has been out of the Braves lineup in three consecutive games this season.
Bonifacio has made seven of the past 14 starts in center and could play more frequently over the final 17 games, though manager Fredi Gonzalez hasn’t divulged any specific plans.
The Braves were a seemingly insurmountable insurmountable eight games behind Washington in the National League East standings before facing the Nationals Tuesday, but only 1 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh for the second and final NL wild card spot.
Upton was batting .206 with 10 home runs, 33 RBIs and a .284 on-base percentage in 129 games, and his .611 on-base-plus-slugging percentage ranked 220th out of 233 major leaguers with at least 325 plate appearances. He was sixth in the majors in strikeouts with 163 in 480 at-bats before Tuesday.
