Heyward’s hand OK, he’s back in lineup

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez’s day brightened when he saw Jason Heyward in the training room early Saturday afternoon and the big right fielder gave him an update on his right hand that was struck by a pitch Friday night.

Heyward said he was good to go and to put him in the lineup.

“I didn’t know what to expect coming in this afternoon,” Gonzalez said. “I knew it wasn’t broken, because the report said he was fine. And we were lucky that Dr. (Gary) Lourie was here (Friday), he’s the hand specialist. But I didn’t know if he needed another day (to rest it) or not.

“I turned around the corner and he’s there, getting treatment. He said, ‘I’m good.’ I said, OK.”

The Braves breathed a sigh of relief when X-rays came back negative on Heyward’s hand after he was struck by a pitch in the first inning of the series-opening win against the Angels. He left the game an inning later after it began to stiffen, but an examination showed no broken bones or tissue damage.

There was more relief for Braves players when they saw their big leadoff man back in the lineup Saturday, after reporting no stiffness and only minor swelling in the hand, his non-throwing hand.

He was, “surprised at how good I felt this morning waking up,” Heyward told reporters Saturday afternoon. “Prayer works. That’s all I can tell you there. Good news. Just continue with ice, heat, contrast, and play some baseball.”

Heyward held both hands up to display the lack of swelling on the hand, which had only a small mark where he was hit.

“Very little inflammation,” he said. “Obviously there’s going to be something there from being hit. Other than that, it’s good. No stiffness, nothing that’s going to restrict me. It’s my right hand, so I don’t need to throw or anything. So it should be good.”

He ran into Gonzalez near the training room more than six hours before Saturday’s game, long before most Braves had arrived.

“It’s always good to see a player, when they got injured the night before, get (to the ballpark) early the next day and want to get in the lineup,” Gonzalez said. “That’s a dream for a manager, because sometimes you wait till 2:30, 3 o’clock and you’re pacing in your office, going, is he going to play? Is he not going to play?

“I come around the corner and he’s sitting there, ‘I’m good. I’m getting a little treatment today and I’m good. Put me in.’ Fine. (Gonzalez laughs.) I like to watch you play.”

There’s been plenty to watch from Heyward for more than a month. His defense has been outstanding, as usual, and he’s turned things around offensively since a sluggish April. With several others in the top half of the lineup struggling, the Braves could not afford to have Heyward miss any time.

In his past 30 games before Saturday, Heyward hit .308 (37-for-120) with five homers, 15 RBIs, 18 runs, a .381 on-base percentage and a .467 slugging percentage. In his 34 games before that, he hit .206 with two homers, eight RBIs, a .297 OBP and a .301 slugging percentage.

In his fifth major league season, Heyward has been plagued by nagging injuries in the past, seemingly at the worst possible times, just when he was in the midst of a hitting surge. He injured a thumb midway through his 2010 rookie season when he made the All-Star team, and his power was diminished the rest of the season.

A shoulder injury slowed him for most of his 2011 season. Last season, Heyward had two stings on the disabled list for an emergency appendectomy in April and a broken jaw in August. He provided a big spark for the Braves’ offense in July after moving to the leadoff spot, only to be struck in the face by a faceball in August.

In the one season where he avoided any serious injury, in 2012, he had career-highs of 30 doubles, six triples, 28 homers, 82 RBIs and a .479 slugging percentagte, and Heyward also won a Gold Glove that season.