OAKLAND – No one could’ve imagined it after his sluggish first month, but Ender Inciarte has been so hot in May and June that the Braves center fielder could end up representing the team in the July 11 All-Star game in Miami.
Inciarte entered Friday night’s series opener at Oakland leading tied with Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon for the National League lead with 102 hits and needing one hit in the final game of June to become just the fifth Braves player in the Atlanta era (since 1966) to have consecutive 40-hit months.
That group includes Felipe Alou (1966); Ralph Garr, who did it in 1973 and 1974); Gary Matthews (1979) and Martin Prado (2010). Garr is the only Atlanta Brave to have three consecutive 40-hit months (June-August, 1973).
Inciarte’s .308 average and .356 on-base percentage before Friday might seem less than overwhelming until you consider how he got there, how his season began: He hit just .230 with a .267 on-base percentage in 23 games in April.
The Gold Glove winner turned things around quickly, batting .336 40-for-119) with a .397 OBP in 28 May games and .348 (39-for-112) with a .387 OBP in 27 June games entering Friday’s final game of the month. Before Friday, Inciarte led the majors with 202 hits since the 2016 All-Star break and was among eight players to have at least 100 runs scored in that span.
He also led the majors with 335 at-bats this season before Friday, having played in every Braves game and started all but one of them in center field.
The fourth-year major leaguer had a .295 career average before Friday including a career-best .303 season with the Diamondbacks in 2015 and a .291 average and career-high .351 OBP last season in his first year with the Braves.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said he wasn’t surprised to see Inciarte batting over .300 near the season’s midpoint.
“He’s one of those guys.” Snitker said before batting practice Friday. “After being around him last year, this is kind of what you expect. He kind of got off to a slow start, but at the end of the day the guy’s a .300 hitter. He puts the ball in play. What he’s done since the All-Star break last year is just phenomenal. You team that with Gold Glove center field, it comes out to a really, really good baseball player.
“He’s fun to watch. Loves to play, lot of energy.”
All-Star pitchers and reserves will be announced Sunday.
