Braves second baseman Jace Peterson is expected to miss two starts because of a bruised left thumb.
Peterson wasn’t in the lineup for the series opener against the Pirates on Friday, and manager Fredi Gonzalez said Peterson also won’t start Saturday. Gonzalez said Peterson has been dealing with pain in the thumb for the past several days and received an injection Thursday, an off day for the Braves.
“Nothing structurally damaged, just a deep bruise,” Gonzalez said. “Give him a day or two and get him back in there. He’s available (off the bench) to do anything but swing the bat.”
Peterson, 25, is batting .262 with a .335 on-base percentage, including .290/.365 over his past 35 games. After joining the Braves from the Padres in a December trade, Peterson made the roster with a strong performance in spring training and has been the everyday second baseman.
Pedro Ciriaco started at second base Friday. Gonzalez said that for Saturday’s game he planned to move Juan Uribe from third to second and play Chris Johnson at third. Both are righty hitters, and the Pirates are starting left-hander Jeff Locke.
Uribe, 36, hasn’t played second base since the 2011 season with the Dodgers. He took some ground balls at second during the recent road trip and told Gonzalez he’s comfortable.
