NEW YORK — For the first four months of the 2011 season, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez meticulously made a point never to give both Chipper Jones and Brian McCann a day off on the same day.
He did it only four times in the first 103 games, and three of those were on days Jones was battling an injury.
But when McCann went down with a strained oblique last week and Jones suffered a quadriceps strain the night he came back from arthroscopic knee surgery, Gonzalez had no choice but to make out his lineup without his No. 3 and 4 hitters for the past eight games.
In that time the Braves have gone 4-4 and dropped two games in the standings to fall a season-high eight games behind the Phillies entering Thursday night. Entering the weekend series with the Mets, their lead in the wild-card standings was down to 2 1/2 games.
Injuries haven’t been the only issue, but they’ve been a glaring one. And Jones wants to remedy the situation Friday in New York, when he hopes to return to the lineup for only the second time in 23 games.
“When we’re hurt, and we’re not out there, you can just sense something’s missing,” Jones said.
The Braves added speedster Michael Bourn at the trade deadline Sunday, and he has hit .308 (4-for-13) with two runs, a double, an RBI and a stolen base since his arrival Monday.
Second baseman Dan Uggla has done about everything else possible to try to fill the void. He brings a 25-game hitting streak into the Mets series and has re-invented himself after a miserable start. His batting average has climbed from .173 when the streak started July 5 to .215.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Uggla’s batting average is lower after a 25-game hitting streak than any hitter in the modern era. The previous low was .265 by Hobe Ferris of the St. Louis Browns in 1908.
“[Uggla] is trying to keep us above water as best he can, but he needs some help,” Jones said. “Help is coming.”
McCann is a little more than halfway into his stint on the 15-day disabled list and hopeful he’ll be ready to come off when he’s eligible Aug. 12 against the Cubs, the first day of the Braves’ next homestand. “I’m pushing for that first day when we get back,” McCann said. “I’ll be good, hopefully. We’ll see.”
But McCann has yet to test his oblique by swinging a bat or throwing. He plans to begin doing some light throwing and swinging Friday in New York. Only as he begins to swing will the Braves be able to see if this is really a mild strain. Both Nate McLouth and Brandon Beachy needed a month to recover from oblique injuries.
“Until you start swinging, you don’t know,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez didn’t like to hear Nationals coach Pat Corrales tell him this week that veteran catcher Ivan Rodriguez thought he would return in two weeks from an oblique strain only to suffer a setback swinging.
Gonzalez knows injuries haven’t been the Braves’ only problem. The Braves have a 4.27 ERA in 20 games since the All-Star break, while going 10-10. Their starting pitching — a constant strength before the break — has faltered of late.
Derek Lowe (1-3, 7.97), Tommy Hanson (1-2, 6.56), and Jair Jurrjens (0-1, 6.26) all have ERAs over 6.00 and losing records in four starts since the All-Star break. Beachy is 2-1 with a 4.30 ERA since the break.
Only Tim Hudson has been consistently good in that time, going 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts.
The Braves have all four of their top pitching prospects at Triple-A now, with this week’s promotion of Randall Delgado from Double-A Mississippi. He joins Mike Minor, Julio Teheran and Arodys Vizcaino in Gwinnett. The Braves likely will turn to one or more of them coming down the stretch.
“I think we’re wide open to a lot of options during these last two months — to see who’s the best fit, who can help us,” Braves general manager Frank Wren said.
