Phil Gosselin remained in the Braves lineup Saturday against the A’s after the utility man had two hits, including his first career home run, Friday.
Gosselin moved from shortstop to second base to give Tommy La Stella a day off. He batted second both days. Andrelton Simmons, who missed Friday’s game after having two teeth pulled, was back in the lineup at shortstop.
Gosselin played shortstop Friday against an A’s lineup with predominately right-handed hitters. He recorded six assists and three putouts. He moved to second base Saturday with an A’s lineup that had several more left-handed hitters.
“I have to give all the credit to our player development staff and to Brian Snitker, my Triple-A manager,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He said ‘This is what he can do. This is what he can’t do.’ He … has nailed it on the head. He is a very serviceable major league player.”
In 13 games since being called up on July 26, Gosselin is hitting .286 (6-for-21). He has played second, shortstop and third base.
The two-run homer Gosselin hit in Friday’s 7-2 win over the A’s came in the sixth inning off reliever Jesse Chavez. Gosselin said it was the biggest home run of his baseball career – and he owns a roundtriper off Stephen Strasburg during an NCAA Tournament game. Gosselin, of Virginia, homered off Strasburg, of San Diego State, in the 2009 Irvine Regional on a first-inning, first-pitch fastball that went off the scoreboard in left field. Virginia went on to win for Strasburg’s only loss that season.
“This is the big leagues, so this one’s on a little bigger stage,” Gosselin said comparing the blasts. “So I think that was definitely the biggest one I’ve hit.”
