Braves’ Simmons didn’t ask for day off, but he’ll take it
CINCINNATI – Andrelton Simmons has felt good at the plate for a week and been productive since recovering from a sprained ankle, but the Braves shortstop didn't have a problem being out of the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Reds.
“I’ll take my day off when I get it,” he said. “I’ve learned to make the most of days off.”
Simmons hit .268 with two doubles, two homers and seven RBIs in 10 games since Aug. 13, the day he returned to the lineup after missing six games with a sprained left ankle.
He’s still getting some daily treatment for his ankle but said it hasn’t affected his play. The throwing shoulder that was occasionally sore for a couple of months also hasn’t slowed him, he said.
“Rest always helps, but (playing with nagging injuries) has not been a major factor,” he said.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez gave him the day off Sunday in order to couple it with the team’s off day Monday in New York, providing Simmons with two full days of rest before a series opener Tuesday against the Mets.
It’s something that Gonzlalez’s mentor, retired Braves manager Bobby Cox, always liked to do when he had a chance to rest a player consecutive days with an off day in the schedule.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Simmons said of two rest days instead of one. “I’m ready to play whenever they tell me. And when they tell me to sit down, I enjoy (the day off).”
In his second full season in the majors, Simmons has a batting average (.251) and on-base percentage (.297) similar to what he posted last season (.248/.296), but with a .350 slugging percentage that’s down from .396.
After finishing last season with 50 extra-base hits including 17 homers in 658 plate appearances, he had only 25 extra-base hits (seven homers) in 464 plate appearances before Sunday. But with four extra-base hits including two homers in his past six games, Simmons has begun to raise his slugging percentage a bit.
He said he’s felt good recently at the plate.
“I guess you get to that part in the season where you try some stuff out, you know what works for you, and you’re just going with that the rest of the way,” he said. “It feels pretty good. I feel comfortable at the plate. Had a terrible at-bat (Saturday) night, but every once in a while you have those.”
The at-bat he referenced was a three-pitch strikeout to end the eighth inning of a 1-0 loss to the Reds, after Emilio Bonifacio’s two-out double. Simmons struck out swinging at three consecutive sliders thrown by reliever Jonathan Broxton.
Simmons doubled to start the seventh inning Saturday with the Braves trailing 1-0, and they failed to score after Freddie Freeman and Justin Upton both struck out . The Braves loaded the bases on a pair of two-out walks, but Tommy La Stella grounded sharply into a 6-4 force to end the inning.
