CHICAGO — Dan Uggla’s tumultuous season like no other continued in surge mode Monday night when he hit the 30-homer plateau for the fifth consecutive season, doing it with a towering shot over the left-field bleachers and out of Wrigley Field.
His 30th homer was a solo shot onto Waveland Avenue that helped the Braves beat the Cubs 3-0 and put more distance between Uggla and all other power-hitting second basemen.
Uggla has hit 30 or more homers in five consecutive seasons, while no other player at his position in major league history ever had more than three 30-homer seasons, consecutively or otherwise.
This is the same guy who hit a majors-worst .173 through July 4. Since then, Uggla had a .348 average in 42 games before Tuesday, with 18 homers and 37 RBIs.
“It’s the fastest I’ve ever gotten to 30,” said Uggla, who had 15 homers and 31 RBIs in his past 32 games before Tuesday and led the majors with 10 homers in August. “But I’ve been saying all year long, that’s why you play the full season. That’s why you keep working, stay positive, because you never know what can happen.
“I’ve been hot before, and good things happen when you’re feeling good and hitting the ball hard.”
Four others have had three 30-homer seasons while playing second base as their primary position: Rogers Hornsby, Jeff Kent, Alfonso Soriano and Chase Utley.
Uggla’s July resurgence has gone unabated into late August and helped lift the Braves’ offense to the level that players and team officials had envisioned before the season began. Pitching carried the team in the first half when the lineup under-performed.
Their 5-foot-9 fireplug of a second baseman was a big reason the Braves were a season-high 25 games over .500 before Tuesday.
“First time in history as a second baseman, right?” Braves manager Fredi Gonzlez said of Uggla’s 30th homer. “That’s a tremendous feat to do that. Good for him. That’s what he came here to do, and he’s done it. ... Tremendous.”
Uggla came to the Braves in a November trade and signed a five-year, $62 million contract extension before putting on a uniform. He could have become a free agent after this season.
