SAN DIEGO — After moving from the eighth in the batting order to seventh Tuesday, Braves center fielder B.J. Upton was bumped up to sixth in Wednesday's series finale against the Padres.
The center fielder was 8-for-31 (.258) with a double, two homers, eight walks and a .410 on-base percentage in 10 June games before Wednesday, after going 8-for-55 (.127) with one extra-base hits, six walks and 27 strikeouts in his previous 18 games, which dropped his average to .145 at the end of April.
“You see some of the swings are getting better and better,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said, explaining the move Wednesday morning. “Also, to kind of move him up into a situation where it might free him up a little bit in baserunning. In the eight-hole sometimes you want to run but you’ve got that pitcher in there, so you don’t want to run (and risk making the last out of an inning).”
Upton has just three stolen bases in six attempts in his first season with the Braves, after stealing more than 30 for the past five consecutive seasons with Tampa Bay, including 31 in 37 attempts in 2012.
He began the season in the fifth spot in the order, but moved to leadoff by the end of the first week. Upton hit leadoff for just over two weeks, struggling mightily for most of that stretch. After a few games in the 2-hole, he was dropped to the seventh spot, then to eighth and eventually to the bench for most of a week to work on his swing.
Etc. Padres starter Edinson Volquez (5-5) had a season-high nine strikeouts in seven innings and limited the Braves to one run, six hits and three walks. The Braves struck out 13 times Wednesday…. Justin Upton's eighth-inning homer was his 10th at Petco Park, tying Adam LaRoche for the most by a visiting player at the San Diego ballpark…. The Braves were swept by the Padres, the first time this season they were swept by an NL team in a three-game series. The Tigers swept the Braves in three games April 26-28 in Detroit…. The series loss was the first for the Braves since dropping two of three vs. Arizona May 13-15.
