BALTIMORE—Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez moved right fielder Nick Markakis back into the leadoff spot for the series opener against the Orioles on Monday.
Markakis hit No. 1 for 18 games earlier in the season before first-year second baseman Jace Peterson was moved there on May 15. Markakis had hit third or fourth since then while Peterson struggled to get on base as the No. 1 hitter
The Braves now have their top three players in on-base percentage batting 1-2-3: Markakis (.368 entering Monday), Cameron Maybin (.346) and Freeman (.368).
“Now you have a legit No. 3 hitter (Freeman), a guy that leads the team in on-base percentage,” Gonzalez said. “Move ‘Petey’ down from that pressure of leading off… . If you believe all of that stuff—which we do, a lot of it, (with) on-base percentage—we’ve got the top three guys in the top three spots. See if that will create more runs.”
Peterson hit .233 with a .315 OBP in 60 games as the lead-off hitter. In his past 27 games (25 starts) Peterson had .237 on-base percentage.
During his earlier stint as the No. 1 hitter Markakis had a .361 on-base percentage. In 21 July games entering Monday Markakis was hitting .228 with a .291 on-base percentage after he batted .302 with a .389 on-base percentage over the first three months.
Gonzalez said he’d been thinking about moving Markakis to the lead-off position for several days as he anticipated the return of Freeman to the lineup. The Braves activated Freeman from the disabled list on Saturday after he missed 30 games with a right wrist injury.
