SAN FRANCISCO – After missing Sunday's game with back tightness, Justin Upton returned to the Braves lineup for Monday night's series opener against the Giants.
The team’s nearly five-hour charter flight to San Francisco on Sunday night proved not to be the problem for the left fielder, who said Sunday he expected to miss only one game, and did.
The Braves might also have caught a break with the San Francisco weather, which was 10-15 degrees warmer than what they’re used to at AT&T Park. The temperature reached the upper 70s on Monday afternoon and was to be in the 60s for the game Monday night, then climb into the mid-80s the next two days.
Upton was among the veteran Braves who couldn’t remember it ever being so warm for a series in San Francisco, and he’s played at the ballpark more than any of his teammates because of three-times-annual trips there in his years with the Diamondbacks.
“Every time we come here we’re wearing (long) sleeves,” he said. “Nice to get good weather here. You never know, maybe the ball will carry a little bit better. It’ll still get a little chilly here at night. But it’ll be good playing weather.”
As with many hitters, spacious and often wind-swept AT&T Park has been one of Upton’s least-productive hitting venues. He entered Monday with a .235 career average, two homers and 51 strikeouts in 45 games (166 at-bats) at the ballpark hard by China Basin on San Francisco Bay.
“Tough hitters park,” he said. “You try to find a way to score runs, and they (Giants) play very well here.”
“It’s a nice place. Crowd’s good, big park, fun place to play… It’s usually freezing. Sometimes during the day it’s nice and then all of a sudden when the sun goes down you’re out here freezing. I don’t think it’s supposed to be (cold) this time.”
Braves lefty Mike Minor, who is scheduled to start Tuesday’s game, is 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA in five starts against the Giants and won his only career start at AT&T Park.
“It’s a nice place,” he said. “Crowd’s good, big park, fun place to play… It’s usually freezing. Sometimes during the day it’s nice and then all of a sudden when the sun goes down you’re out here freezing. I don’t think it’s supposed to be (cold) this time.”
