TV cameras caught Kris Medlen feeding a cup of water to Justin Upton in the dugout Friday night after Upton’s first inning solo home run against the Marlins. But Medlen said he’s done his hydrating “celebration” ritual a handful of times with teammates B.J. Upton and Brian McCann.
“It might have started with BMac because BMac hit a home run and I was just like ‘Man, he looks tired, running around the bases,’” Medlen said.
Medlen said he gave B.J. Upton some water in Philadelphia on his home run Aug. 4 before the umpires ruled it a double after reviewing it on instant replay.
“I told him to like get it back up because it didn’t count,” Medlen said, demonstrating with a gagging sound.
Just add it to the list of hugging, collar-tugging and hand-shaking celebrations the Braves have become known for.
“Who knows how we come up with any of those - it just happens,” Medlen said. “It’s one of those random things you do when you’re going crazy, doing the same things every day.”
Note: When the Braves 14-game winning streak ended with a 1-0 loss to the Marlins Saturday, it was longest winning streak in major-league history that ended with a 1-0 loss, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The previous record of 12 straight wins before a 1-0 loss was also held by the Braves’ franchise. The Boston Red Caps suffered a 1-0 defeat to the Chicago White Stockings on Sept. 8, 1877, in the National League’s second season. In fact, only one other team in the last 29 years has had a double-digit winning streak end in this manner. That was earlier this season, when the same Braves lost 1-0 to the Royals after having won their previous 10 games.
