Injuries plague NL East

Justin Upton and Jason Heyward along with B.J. Upton were once considered a deep outfield before injuries took over. (Photo: Brett Davis, USA TODAY Sports)

ATLANTA - The Braves, once upon a time, were a team so deep in outfielders there was a percolating controversy about how to get them all playing time, especially with the prolonged struggles at the plate the first half for the three starters: Justin Upton, B.J. Upton, and Jason Heyward.

That depth, however, has suddenly evaporated for the first place team in the NL East.

One night after right-fielder Heyward's awkward slide into third base yielded a hamstring injury, centerfielder B.J. Upton had a knuckling line drive hit off his upper body then knee and he was left face-planted in the outfield grass.

Upton walked off the field gingerly in the top of the first inning here Friday night against the Reds and was replaced by rookie Joey Terdoslavich. Upton's injury was called a right adductor strain, which is in the groin, hip area.

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Then, in the seventh inning, his brother Justin Upton was legging out a ground ball to the infield when he came up gimpy. Upton was immediately replaced in centerfield by Tyler Pastornicky. The Braves said Upton suffered a left calf strain and will be evaluated Saturday.

Heyward is day-to-day and the only thing that might keep him off the DL is a long rest for the All-Star break. Heyward and the Uptons join the outfielder injury brigade formed by Jordan Schafer (ankle) and Evan Gattis (oblique).

Schafer went on the 15-day DL July 4 with a right ankle injury, but the right ankle bruise was has now been upgraded to a fracture following an MRI here Friday. Schafer now might not be back until the end of the month.

Schafer was part of a 2011 mid-season trade by the Braves to Houston for Michael Bourn. He was considered immature and while the team thought he had considerable upside, Atlanta did not want to wait on him. Schafer played 2012 with the Astros, but then was placed on waivers by the lowly Astros.

The Braves scooped him up last November 1 and he has been a gem. Schafer is hitting .312 and has been above average defensively and as a base runner with 9 steals. B.J. Upton has hit below .200 all season and there have been constant calls here for Schafer to become the everyday centerfielder. Upton's $72 million contract complicates that move.

Schafer's comeback story is nothing of that belonging to outfielder/catcher Evan Gattis, who is also injured. Gattis strained an oblique and went on the Disabled List on June 18, interrupting a fairy tale season. He had 14 home runs, six of them pinch-hit home runs. Gattis was out of baseball four years following high school and traveled the country working odd jobs and overcoming mental-health issues to return to the game.

Gattis was pushing for more playing time in the outfielder, especially when Justin Upton hit a serious slump after a sizzling April (12 home runs).

Schafer and Gattis are big reasons why Atlanta leads the Majors with a .298 average pinch-hitting. In addition to Gattis, there is outfielder Reed Johnson who has a .357 pinch-hitting average. Johnson replaced Heyward in the starting lineup here Friday night.

The Braves have already lost for the season infielder Ramiro Pena, who was having a good first half (.278) before a shoulder injury.

Gattis is expected back right after the All-Star break, which will be good news if Heyward and B.J. Upton are on the shelf for prolonged time.

The Braves bench was so depleted they had to use the defensive wizard Paul Janish as a pinch-hitter here Friday night.

Atlanta limps into the break

with a 6-game lead in the NL East over the Washington Nationals. The break could not come at a better time for the Braves, whose quality depth and bench strength is suddenly depleted.