MIAMI – While brother Justin Upton was hitting .400 and led the league in home runs and slugging percentage, B.J. Upton was barely hitting .100 through his first eight games and was out of the Braves lineup Wednesday.
The one-game respite for the elder Upton was ostensibly to give Jordan Schafer his first start this season. Schafer played center field and singled in the second inning Wednesday in just his second plate appearance so far.
B.J. Upton, who was 3-for-29 (.103) with one homer and one RBI, said he felt good at the plate and was not stressed out about the slow start. It was his first time out of the lineup, and he’ll have have consecutive days off because the Braves are off Thursday before a weekend series against the Nationals beginning Friday in Washington.
“It’s just not happening right now, but that’s the beauty of a 162-game season,” Upton said. “We’re nine games in. There’s too much baseball left to be played to really read into it. But I do feel good up there. I’m seeing the ball well. Pitch selection’s a little off for me right now; I’ll say inconsistent. But it’s getting better.
“And I feel good up there. That’s all that matters.”
He was out of the lineup a day after right fielder Jason Heyward – batting .083 with one homer before Wednesday — got his first day off. Reed Johnson got his first start of the season Tuesday in right field.
“These guys (Johnson and Schafer) haven’t been really getting ABs,” Upton said. “I think the idea is to keep them fresh, keep us fresh. … Getting two days is not bad at all. That’ll be good.”
