Justin Upton left Sunday’s game in the fifth inning with a cramp in his left hamstring. It was the second time this season he’s left a game with a cramp.
Upton came out of a July 12th game against the Reds after his left calf cramped up as he ran out a groundball. Upton missed the next two games before the All-Star break.
“I’m hoping to be in there tomorrow,” Upton said after Sunday’s game. “I feel good enough.”
Upton doesn’t think it’s as serious an issue this time, but going forward in the Atlanta heat this August, it’s something manager Fredi Gonzalez knows they’ll need to address. The temperature was 90 degrees for first pitch the day game Sunday.
Upton played the first six years of his career in Arizona, but inside the air-conditioned Chase Field.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to keep him on the field without cramping,” Gonzalez said.
Upton had dropped down a bunt with runners first and second and was charging hard up the first base line as Mike Minor was thrown out trying to advance to third base.
Upton said he didn’t cramp up until after he was walking back to first base once the play was over. He tried to stretch his left leg out and went over to the Braves dugout to drink some water but he was ultimately pulled for a pinch runner – his brother B.J. Upton.
B.J. got to trot home rounding the bases on Freddie Freeman’s three-run home run that followed.
