Right fielder Jason Heyward was in the Braves’ lineup Thursday night, and outfielder Jose Constanza was on the bench for the first time since joining the major league team.
Since being promoted from Triple-A on July 29, Constanza caused a stir while hitting .385 in 18 consecutive starts — six in left field, three in center and nine in right ahead of struggling Heyward.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez gave Constanza a rest Thursday against the Giants and ace Tim Lincecum.
“You don’t want Jason sitting for three, four, five days at a time,” he said. “Get him in there. He’s got a little bit of history against Lincecum [Heyward was 2-for-7 with three walks against him before Thursday]. Get him in there, see if he can get out of this thing.”
Heyward has been in a funk for much of the season, exacerbated by a nagging shoulder injury that landed him on the disabled list from May 22 to June 15.
He hit .218 with 12 homers, 31 RBIs and a .310 on-base percentage before Thursday, including .222 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 49 games since returning from the DL. As a rookie in 2010, Heyward hit .277 with 18 homers, 72 RBIs and a .393 OBP.
“I can’t put a finger on it,” Gonzalez said, when asked about the second-year struggle. “You can speculate all you want — sophomore season, league’s making adjustments to him, some of the little nagging injuries, all kind of stuff.”
Heyward started only five of the past 14 games before Thursday, and team officials were impressed by his attitude and extra work in the batting cage during that period.
“We’re asking him to work and maybe change and tinker with a few things at the major league level, and asking him to produce [at the same time], which is very difficult to do,” Gonzalez said. “But he’s handled all that really well.”
Hanson return pushed back
Tommy Hanson’s return to the Braves’ starting rotation likely will be pushed back again.
The right-hander is on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tendinitis for the second time in as many months, and Gonzalez said it would be pushing it to have him make a targeted Tuesday start.
“I don’t think it’s going to be too much longer after that,” Hanson said. “It felt great today. Today was my first day doing everything [full workout], and I felt real good. It’s encouraging.”
Fill-in rookie starter Mike Minor would remain in the rotation and start Tuesday.
“I think the window for [Hanson] to pitch [Tuesday] may be getting close to closing,” Gonzalez said. “We may err on the side of caution there. I think we may give him a rehab start in the minor leagues. But that’s down the road a little bit.”
Hanson hasn’t thrown from the mound since his last start, Aug. 6 at New York, where he gave up a career-high four homers and seven runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Mets to fall to 1-3 with an 8.10 ERA and .313 opponents’ average in five starts since the All-Star break.
He was 10-4 with a 2.44 ERA and .190 OA before the break.
Moylan to rehab
After spending four months on the DL recovering from back surgery, reliever Peter Moylan is antsy to pitch again in games. He won’t have to wait much longer.
He threw batting practice Thursday for the second time this week and is set to begin a rehab assignment Monday with Triple-A Gwinnett. He likely would rejoin the Braves around Sept. 1.
The Aussie sidearmer would be eligible for the postseason roster whether he’s activated before or after the Aug. 31 deadline to set postseason rosters. Players on the DL on Aug. 31 are eligible.
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