PITTSBURGH – Streaky slugger Justin Upton is surging, and this time getting plenty of help in the Braves lineup.
Upton hit his 24th homer and drove in five runs during an 11-3 rout against the Pirates Tuesday, which gave him four homers, 14 RBIs and a .488 OBP during a 10-game hitting streak. He extended it to 11 games with a first-inning RBI single Wednesday at Pittsburgh.
In 31 games since the All-Star break, Upton had a .315 average with 17 extra-base hits (seven homers), 25 RBIs and a .403 OBP and .602 slugging percentage before Wednesday.
“He’s been locked in,” right fielder Jason Heyward said. “He wants to be in the big spots. He’s not backing down and he has some good guys around him who can help him go up there and relax.”
He’s getting help particularly from Heyward, who had three RBIs Tuesday, and Freddie Freeman. That big three has fueled a turnaround since the team totaled 18 runs on an 0-8 road trip that ended Aug. 6. In 12 games since, they were 8-4 while batting .268 with 16 homers and 55 runs.
Freeman hit .417 in his past 16 games with seven doubles, two homers and a .507 OBP. Heyward hit .337 with a .392 OBP in his past 23 games, and the Braves had won six of seven since he moved back to the leadoff spot.
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