Jace Peterson is deep in his worst slide of the season, hitting .098 (4-for-41) with 14 strikeouts in his past 10 games. He was hitting .284 before this stretch; he’s now hitting .256.
“Just not getting hits,” Peterson said before the game Saturday. “I don’t think its anything specific, just got to keep working. It’s just baseball. So just continue to work, continue to keep at it and it’ll change.”
Manager Fredi Gonzalez said he hadn’t noticed anything specific affecting Peterson’s bat, and Peterson said hitting coach Kevin Seitzer hadn’t, either.
“(There’s) nothing I’m changing. … Just like I said, man, just staying at it. Keeping going,” Peterson said. “I don’t think there’s anybody who hasn’t gone through this. I go through it every year. It’s just baseball and that’s really it, man. You’ve just got to keep going and keep working and not lose confidence.”
Numbers from Peterson’s slump closely mirror those from stints with the Padres last season. He appeared in 27 games with San Diego, but he tallied only 53 at-bats. He hit .113 (6-for-53) with 18 strikeouts.
Peterson’s average as leadoff hitter, where he’s been since May 15, has plummeted to .240 (43-for-179). He’s played the second-most games (12) in the seven hole, where he’s hit .410 (16-for-39). The Braves are 5-7 when bats seventh and 24-21 when bats leadoff.
Despite the rough stretch, Peterson is still hitting .636 (7-got-11) with the bases loaded — seventh-best in the majors. His 18 RBIs with the bases loaded are the most in the majors, and he has to hit a double play this season.
