ST. LOUIS – Jordan Schafer got a start in center field Sunday in place of B.J. Upton, who is mired in a strikeout-filled slump that coincided with his move from the second spot in the lineup two weeks ago.
Upton had 13 strikeouts in 19 at-bats in the first five games of a six-game trip that finished Sunday in St. Louis, raising his total to a majors-leading 56 strikeouts in 143 at-bats before Sunday. He was batting .207 overall with three homers and a .272 on-base percentage.
“People sometimes go through some tough stretches,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “That’s why you run Schafer in there, kind of give (Upton) a breather and then run him back in there tomorrow.”
Upton said of his recent strikeout flurry: “I can’t put a finger on it. I’m sure y’all know when it started happening, though. But I ain’t even going there.”
He struck out plenty before the move from the 2-hole in the lineup, but since the move his whiff rate has increased sharply while his batting average and on-base percentage have plummeted.
Upton was 11-for-50 (.220) with 10 walks, 16 strikeouts and a .350 on-base percentage in his last 14 games in the 2-hole through May 4.
In 11 games since then he was 6-for-35 (.171) with no walks, a dizzying 22 strikeouts and a .167 on-base percentage. That coincided with a shift to the fifth spot in the lineup on May 5, then to the sixth spot beginning May 6.
He was dropped in the order when his brother, Justin Upton, was moved up to the No. 2 spot.
“Yeah, but I’m not saying that’s it,” B.J. Upton said of striking out so much after being dropped in the order. “But I never really felt well where I’m at now (in the sixth spot) in the past, so … Do I want to hit there? No.”
He was surprised to be moved to sixth a couple of weeks ago, and also surprised when he wasn’t in the lineup Sunday.
“I don’t want the day off,” he said Sunday morning. “I do not want the day off. Didn’t know I was getting it. But whatever. It is what it is, I guess.”
The trip got off to such a promising start for B.J. Upton, who homered and doubled in a 4-2 loss in the series opener at San Francisco. He also had an RBI single in a 4-2 win in the second game, the Braves’ only win on the trip before Sunday. But that hit was one of only four plate appearances that didn’t end in a strikeout in his past four games.
Eleven strikeouts in 15 plate appearances during that stretch pushed Upton’s ratio to one strikeout every 2.8 PAs, tied with Milwaukee’s Mark Reynolds for highest in the majors before Sunday. Upton had racked up 26 strikeouts in 48 at-bats in May, after striking out 28 times in 90 at-bats in April.
The Upton brothers were the only National League hitters with more than 48 strikeouts before Sunday, with Justin (52 strikeouts) four behind B.J. For the month of May, the Upton brothers entered Sunday a combined 18-for-100 with three homers, eight RBIs, 10 walks and 45 strikeouts.
So far, moving Justin Upton to the 2-hole hadn’t worked well for either brother. Although to be accurate, Justin’s recent slump began a few days before the move. It started with the turn of the calendar from April to May.
After hitting .326 with eight home runs, 18 RBIs and a .396 OBP and .652 slugging percentage in 24 April games, Justin Upton was 9-for-51 (.176) with one homer, one RBI and a .276 OBP and .294 slugging percentage in 14 May games before Sunday.
