Martin Prado said before Friday’s game that he would need a few games to get his timing back after a 31-game layoff.
It was more like a few at-bats.
Prado homered off Livan Hernandez in his third at-bat Friday night against the Washignton Nationals to welcome himself back to the Braves’ lineup.
He also drove in Tim Hudson with a single to left in the sixth inning.
Prado went eight games of a minor league rehabilitation assignment without an extra-base hit, but he celebrated his return to the Braves’ lineup with his first home run since June 1 against San Diego.
Prado hit the ball pretty well in his first two at-bats, with a flyout to right and a flyout to left. Then he sent a 1-1 Hernandez offering into the left-field seats in the fourth inning for his ninth home run of the season.
This was after Prado said before the game he needed two or three games to get his swing back.
“It was a month without swinging the bat,” Prado said. “I’m not a machine.”
Prado had been out of action since June 7 recovering from surgery for a staph infection. He hit only 5-for-26 (.192) with three RBIs in eight games in Triple-A Gwinnett and Double-A Mississippi combined.
“My hitting is not there yet,” Prado said. “But I’ve been working way too hard. I guess I’m not going to see results in one day. But I’m glad I’m feeling ready to go, and feeling good.”
After 31 games out of the lineup, Prado picked up where he left off. He had hit safely in 22 of his previous 28 games and 27 of his previous 30 games at Turner Field.
One thing he was looking forward to was having a better idea of how to attack the major-league strike zone.
“Down there, the strike zone is bigger,” Prado said. “I’ve got to swing at pitches [that] here I won’t swing.”
The Braves optioned Brandon Hicks to Gwinnett to make room for Prado on the roster.
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