SAN DIEGO -- All it took to get Nate McLouth going was to drop him to the bottom of the Braves' batting order.
The Braves center fielder thinks the timing of his little surge and being dropped from the No. 2 spot was coincidental, but McLouth won’t complain about hitting No. 8.
“It doesn’t matter where I’m hitting, I just feel like I’ve had good at-bats,” McLouth said.
He's hit .320 with three doubles and three RBIs in the past seven games before Monday night’s series opener against San Diego. That includes a two-out, tie-breaking single in the 10th inning of Sunday’s 9-6 win at San Francisco.
McLouth hit .217 before he was dropped from the second slot on April 17, with manager Fredi Gonzalez moving Jason Heyward from sixth to second.
“I didn’t feel like I was having bad at-bats earlier; I just feel like now I’m starting to roll a little bit,” McLouth said. “I think it’s coincidence, though, as far as moving in the order.”
McLouth had the biggest at-bat of the season on Sunday, taking two strikes to run the count full against Giants closer Brian Wilson before his bases-loaded single to center. He hit seventh on Sunday because rookie shortstop Brandon Hicks was eighth in the lineup.
McLouth was back hitting eighth for Monday night’s game. He had a .438 average (7-for-16) with three doubles and a .550 on-base percentage in five games in the eighth spot.
"I thought his at-bats in the 2-hole were OK," Gonzalez said. "I mean, it wasn't like we were overmatched."
Teammates like having McLouth there to balance the lineup.
"Then the pitcher can get up there and put down a bunt, and then you've got Martin [Prado] and me and everybody else, the heavy hitters after us," Heyward said. "It's great to have Nate on base."
Some hitters don’t like the idea of hitting eighth in front of the pitcher and perhaps not getting many pitches to hit. McLouth doesn’t mind.
“I’m not afraid to hit in front of the pitcher,” he said. “It really doesn’t affect you except in certain situations, like maybe with two outs and a guy in scoring position."
Funky superstitions
The Braves’ three-game sweep in San Francisco was accompanied by a couple of budding superstitions in the clubhouse and dugout.
First, there was David Ross' frequent renditions of the Eddie Money 1980s hit "Shakin'," which Ross has been heard to sing on a regular basis before and after games, often accompanied with a bit of dancing.
Then there was the classic paper-cup-on-head prank pulled a couple of times in San Francisco, which got a lot of TV airplay and notoriety for unsuspecting victims Phil Falco (strength coach) and Jeff Porter (head trainer). TV cameras caught the scene in the dugout. There was even a dollop of shaving cream on top of the cup in Porter's case.
Those gags were the handiwork of bullpen coach Eddie Perez, who spent the early innings in the dugout with Braves relievers during the San Francisco series. The bullpen there is directly on the field in foul territory near the dugout, rather than beyond the outfield fences as in almost every other ballpark.
A noted prankster since his playing days, Perez used advanced techniques to affix those paper cups. “I used glue instead of gum,” Perez said, smiling devilishly.
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