Justin Upton left Saturday night’s game after taking a Jeff Samardjia 94 mph fastball to his lower back in the sixth inning.
The Braves announced he had a lower back muscle contusion and was considered day-to-day.
“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow but with a short turnaround we’ll probably give him the afternoon,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, indicating he was likely to rest Upton when the Braves play the Cubs at 1:35 p.m. Sunday. “Hopefully it doesn’t materialize into anything else other than just sore.”
Upton had already had his back tighten up two innings earlier after tagging Anthony Rizzo out during a rundown in the fourth inning. He was tended to by Braves trainers and was able to stay in the game. That changed after he took a Samardzija fastball in nearly the same spot.
“When we collided on the tag, my lower back locked up on me, spasming, and I went back out and played,” Upton said. “Then I got hit in the back. Moral of the story is it spasmed up again.”
He was replaced by Jordan Schafer, who pinch ran and stayed in the game in left field.
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