NEW YORK — B.J. Upton wasn’t about to get carried away by one week’s worth of solid production, but the Braves and the center fielder have undoubtedly been encouraged.
In his past six games before Saturday, Upton was 8-for-25 (.320) with a homer, four walks, three strikeouts, three stolen bases and a .414 OBP. He was on base by hit or walk at least twice in five of those six games.
In his nine previous games, he was 5-for-37 (.135) with no RBIs, one walk, 15 strikeouts and one stolen base.
“I felt pretty good in spring training, just kind of lost the feel for about a week or so,” Upton said. “But I got it back to where I want it, and it’s just more consistent. If you lose it for a week, that’s going to happen. But the fact that I was able to get it back so quickly felt pretty cool.”
Manager Fredi Gonzalez has started Upton in all but one game this season, and batted him in the second spot in every start — keeping him there throughout the sluggish start.
“He’s been getting on base, stealing bases — he got on base three times (Friday),” Gonzalez said. “It’s nice to see. Nice to watch. Makes managing easier in that two-hole.”
Upton said the changes he made to his swing over the winter, cutting out some of his excess movement, helped him get back quicker to feeling like he did at spring training. His improvement began two days after an afternoon hitting session with retired Braves star Chipper Jones, who went to Turner Field to work with him.
“It was just kind of coincidence,” Upton said of the timing of his improvement. “I knew what I wanted to do, and talking to him, we kind of had the same ideas. It helped me a little bit, helped me get back to some things I used to do in the past.”
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