After hitting a home run in his first major league game and one in his first pinch-hit at-bat, Evan Gattis remained consistent Monday with a homer in his first game as a designated hitter, also his first in Canada.
The Braves rookie went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, one of the few bright spots for Atlanta in its 9-3 interleague loss to the Blue Jays. Then he homered again Tuesday in the Braves’ 7-6 win.
The big Texan with the vice-like handshake and colorful past was the most popular interview among Canadian writers during the Braves’ two-game series in Toronto.
“He smoked that ball to right-center,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Gattis’ opposite-field homer Monday against right-handed reliever Brad Lincoln. “He’s a special guy.”
It was the 11th home run for Gattis in 129 at-bats, giving him a National League-leading ratio of one homer per 11.7 at-bats before Tuesday, when he hit his 12th and reduced that ratio to every 11.1.
Before Tuesday, Gattis’ ratio was the best in the league among hitters with at least five homers, ahead of Washington’s Bryce Harper (12.5) and the Braves’ Justin Upton (12.6).
Gattis also had a single and a double off the wall Monday against Mark Buehrle, a left-hander who used an array of off-speed pitches and pedestrian (but well-located) fastballs to allow only three hits by players other than Gattis.
Even before he homered again Tuesday, Gattis already had more than twice as many homers as any other major league rookie. And before his team-leading 32nd RBI Tuesday, he was 10 ahead of the next-highest rookie RBI total.
Gattis switched roles Tuesday with McCann, with Gattis catching and McCann the DH.
The 26-year-old rookie is hitting .371 in 35 at-bats against lefties, with six doubles and three homers.
“I chase a lot of pitches up; that’s kind of been the book on me,” Gattis said of his hits against Buehrle. “So I was lucky to foul off that one before the double on the second at-bat. He was kind of going slower and slower, where I just kept fouling them off. I got some pitches I could handle. And he stayed away the whole time. Fastballs, slow and sinking away.”
In his first time facing most major league pitchers, Gattis is making notes. He finds the crafty ones intriguing.
“Guys like him, (Dillon) Gee, (Shaun) Marcum, Bronson Arroyo,” he said. “No matter what happens, I feel like I’m going to get better going up against guys like that. They have to be smarter. They don’t have as much stuff as they used to, or maybe that’s just how they are. But they’re smart, you know?”
Swing project continues: B.J. Upton was out of the lineup a second day in a row Tuesday as the center fielder's swing-correction project continued. He's confident better things are ahead.
“It’s an easy fix; it won’t take long,” said Upton, who is working with hitting coach Greg Walker and assistant Scott Fletcher to eliminate the excessive “load” portion of his swing, where he leans back before coming forward.
The flaw has caused him to be late on fastballs all season, Walker said. Upton has a majors-worst .148 with four homers, eight RBIsand 60 strikeouts in 155 at-bats, with a .236 on-base percentage and .252 slugging percentage. In his past 25 games, he was 11-for-80 (.138) with one homer and 34 strikeouts.
Instead of completely revamping his swing in midseason, the Braves and Upton agreed he should make a smaller adjustment for now, eliminating most of the load mechanism.
“Just giving him two days to work on his stuff,” Gonzalez said. “I talked to B.J. about it — it’s easier to do it in American League game (interleague play in AL city, with the DH).”
The Braves planned to go back to a conventional seven-man bullpen after the trip that ended Tuesday. They’ve used six relievers recently, with an extra position player. One of those players will be moved to make room for another reliever.
Upton said he doesn’t know how his swing got so messed up.
“Just kind of a bad habit that developed,” he said. “Nothing you can do but just keep going, man. It’s not the first time I struggled, won’t be the last time. Just keep working. I’ll get it turned around.”
J-Up also on bench: The Braves fielded an Upton-less lineup for only the second time this season, with Justin Upton getting a rest in Wednesday's early afternoon series finale in the Rogers Centre dome.
“Yeah, 12:30 game, turf,” Gonzalez said. “I feel like sometimes we play him too much.”
Still the NL leader with 14 homers before Tuesday, Justin was 6-for-32 (.188) in his past eight games with one RBI and 14 strikeouts. In place of the Uptons, Reed Johnson started in left field and Jordan Schafer in center.
