SEATTLE -- On their first visit to the Pacific Northwest since 2003, the Braves on Monday unveiled the largest leadoff man in the major leagues.
For the series opener against the Seattle Mariners, Jason Heyward was penciled in the leadoff spot for the first time in his big-league career.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez laughed when someone asked which hat he used to make out the lineup, as in drawing players' names from a hat.
“I used brain power,” he said. “I had some cod oil, supposed to be good for brain function.”
Just don't expect the 6-foot-5, 248-pound Heyward to make many more starts there. Gonzalez explained that with the Brave facing a good left-hander, Erik Bedard, he wanted to give right-handed-hitting rookie backup Wilkin Ramirez a start.
Ramirez was in left field and Nate McLouth moved back over to center field in place of Jordan Schafer, who was 4-for-34 against lefties before Monday. Gonzalez indicated Schafer would be back in the leadoff spot on Tuesday.
“Schafer’s hitting .118 against lefties, so just give him a break today,” Gonzalez said. “Schafer is still our center fielder. And I wanted to be able to use the bench a little bit. If you’re going to use Ramirez, that’s where you’re going to use him. We’ve got three left-handed outfielders -- if he’s not going to be able to spell a guy against a tough lefty, when are you going to use him? If you’re not going to use him then, he’s not going to be here.”
Veteran newcomer Julio Lugo, whose 9-for-34 history against Bedard was far and away the most extensive of any Braves player, got his first start at third base, batting in Heyward's usual second spot. Chipper Jones was the designated hitter for the interleague series opener.
Jones has never liked to DH and still doesn’t, he said Monday. He finds it difficult to stay loose and involved in the game when he’s not playing defense. But he understood the move.
Switch-hitting Jones hit fourth behind catcher Brian McCann with Gonzalez using his preferred lefty-righty-lefty-righty order.
“Give DH to Chipper, keep him in the lineup and keep his legs kind of fresh, put Lugo in there [at third]," the manager said. "And put Heyward at leadoff spot, because he’s an on-base guy and it also kind of splits up the lefties.”
Schafer’s slipped
Schafer hit .292 with a double, six walks, two strikeouts and a .433 OBP in his first six games after arriving from Triple-A last month. But in 23 games since then, he was 19-for-93 with six walks, 20 strikeouts and a .253 OBP, albeit with six extra-base hits and eight steals in 10 attempts.
With Schafer’s production down, Gonzalez was asked about possibly moving McLouth back to the leadoff spot, where he has plenty of experience.
“For me, that is the place [Schafer’s] got to hit,” Gonzalez said. “I guess you could flip-flop Nate and him, but I think Nate’s been comfortable down there and turns the lineup over. He does a good job down there.”
McLouth, whose numbers had slipped just before he strained an oblique last month, had gone 5-for-18 with three doubles, five walks and a .458 on-base percentage in seven games since returning last week from DL.
For the season, McLouth was batting .324 with a .462 OBP in 24 games at No. 8 spot, with eight doubles, two homers and 16 runs.
McCann’s All-Star lead grows
McCann had more than 3 million All-Star votes, far ahead of second-place Yadier Molina's 2.27 million in fan balloting for National League catcher. Voting closes at MLB.com at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, and McCann will likely be voted a starter for the first time in his sixth consecutive All-Star Game.
Jones was second among NL third basemen with 2.04 million votes, well behind the Phillies' Placido Polanco (3.26 million).
Hanson ready for return
Tommy Hanson's second bullpen session Sunday was better than the first one that came two days earlier, and the Braves right-hander said he's excited about his scheduled return from the 15-day disabled list to start Tuesday night's second game of the series.
Hanson missed two starts recovering from rotator cuff tendinitis in his pitching shoulder. He's 8-4 with a 2.48 ERA that is the third lowest among NL starters behind teammate Jair Jurrjens (2.07) and Philadelphia's Roy Halladay (2.40).
“My shoulder felt looser after the second [bullpen],” he said. “I’m ready. I just want to get back to where I was.”
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