PHILADELPHIA – As bad as the Braves' production has been from leadoff hitters, it's been worse from the second spot in the order.
And so, manager Fredi Gonzalez moved shortstop Andrelton Simmons back to 2-hole Saturday, the second time he batted in that position this season and the first time since the finale of the opening series at Miami.
Simmons hit .267 with six extra-base hits and a team-high 10 RBIs before Saturday, with 15 of his 16 starts coming in the sixth through ninth spots including seven starts in the No. 8 position.
Simmons has multiple starts at seven of the nine positions in the batting order during his career, and his best average and OBP have come in the No. 2 position, where he hit .280 with a .320 OBP in 57 starts (250 plate appearances) before Saturday.
Braves No. 2 hitters were last in the majors by wide margins in almost every statistical category including batting average (.133), OBP (.197) and slugging percentage (.133). They had a puny .330 OPS before Saturday, while Milwaukee (.487) has the only other team whose 2-hole hitters had a collect OPS below .561.
The group of five Braves who had hit second before Saturday were 8-for-60 with eight singles, five walks, three runs and four RBIs. That included Alberto Callaspo .133 (4-for-30), Jace Peterson .143 (2-for-14), Phil Gosselin .111 (1-for-9), Simmons (0-for-4) and Nick Markakis (1-for-3).
When a reporter mentioned to Gonzalez that the Braves had gotten nothing out of the first and second spots out of the lineup, the manager concurred. “Nothing,” he said. “And I think since we moved Callaspo from the seventh or sixth hole (to second), he’s not doing as good.”
Callaspo was 7-for-13 with no strikeouts while batting in the sixth or seventh spots at the beginning of the season. He was in the 2-hole in eight of the past 10 games before Saturday while starting at either second or third base.
