Struggling second baseman Dan Uggla stirred cautious optimism with his first consecutive multi-hit games of the season last weekend at Houston.
Then he went 1-for-21 with one RBI, one walk and six strikeouts in his next five games, dropping his average to a majors-worst .172 before Saturday, when he hit two RBI doubles, one in the third inning and another in the eighth against Texas.
For those concerned that Uggla’s epic slump might cause the veteran second baseman to mentally check out at some point if it continues, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez is confident that won’t happen.
“No, that’s not in him, giving up or giving in, quitting,” said Gonzalez, Uggla’s manager for 3 1/2 seasons with the Marlins. “That’s not in his vocabulary or his demeanor.”
Uggla’s .172 average before Saturday was 13 points lower than the next-worst among major league qualifiers, Adam Dunn’s .185 for the White Sox.
Uggla’s .240 on-base percentage was also the majors’ worst before Saturday, and his .537 on-base-plus-slugging percentage was second-lowest in the National League. His third-inning double Saturday was his fifth extra-base hit and fifth RBI in 30 games.
Delgado back to Double-A
The Braves recalled rookie outfielder Wikin Ramirez from Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday and, as expected, optioned pitcher Randall Delgado back to Double-A Mississippi.
Delgado impressed team officials in his major league debut Friday, an emergency start in place of Tommy Hanson. Delgado gave up four runs and seven hits in four-plus innings of a 6-2 loss against Texas.
The 21-year-old Panamanian allowed one run until the fifth, when he gave up a two-run homer by Josh Hamilton and left the game with a runner on and none out.
Delgado’s pitch command and calm demeanor impressed, especially under the circumstances. He didn’t find out until an hour before his planned Double-A start Thursday that he was being scratched and brought to Atlanta. Then his Friday flight was delayed after the plane had a flat tire.
McLouth in left Sunday?
The Braves plan to activate outfielder Nate McLouth (oblique strain) from the disabled list Sunday, but that doesn’t mean Ramirez is going back to Gwinnett.
“We might do some roster tinkering,” said Gonzalez, who made it sound as if the Braves would do some tinkering, not might.
McLouth played left field during his brief rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett, a move that signaled the Braves’ intention to keep Jordan Schafer in center for the time being.
With left fielder Martin Prado recovering from staph-infection surgery on his right calf and likely out the rest of the month, McLouth could get most of the playing time in left field for a couple of weeks.
The veteran center fielder played eight games in left field last season. Schafer has the better arm and has shown better range than McLouth.
“I talked to Nate about it before he left [for Gwinnett], Gonzalez said. “He said, hey, I understand completely. Whatever you think is best for the team. Which doesn’t surprise me, that answer coming from Nate.”
Gonzalez said he couldn’t give a date for Prado’s expected return because the doctors aren’t certain. Staph-infection wounds are left open after surgery and usually take 2-3 weeks to heal. Prado had surgery June 10.
Chipper update
Third baseman Chipper Jones missed his second consecutive start with a strained right adductor muscle near his right groin. Gonzalez said he hoped to have Jones back in the lineup by Monday.
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