Staff Reports

San Deigo, Ca – Dan Uggla had been slumping.  Past tense, it seems.  The All-Star second baseman’s three run shot in the third, coupled with Paul Mahom’s five hit, one run pitching performance, gave Atlanta all the dominance a fan could ask for as the Braves kept pace with the Washington Nationals who garnered a 6-4 win against the Giants.

Jason Heyward had a two run double in the fourth, and Martin Prado picked up three hits on the night as Atlanta made life interesting for Padres’ pitchers.

Uggla’s developed a history of streaky play. Uggla was hitting only .173 on July 4 last season before he got hot. His career-best 33-game hitting streak was the longest for the Braves in their Atlanta era.  That performance helped him to be selected NL player of the month for August. He finished with a career-best 36 homers and lifted his average to a still-modest .233.”We saw it last year,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez told ESPN. “This is a good time for him to get hot and drive in some runs.”

Uggla is hitting .215 this season, but has homers in two straight games, giving him 15 for the season. He is hitting .267 with three homers and 13 RBIs in August. “I’m getting some hits, driving some runners in and scoring some runs,” Uggla said told ESPN. “That’s when you know you’re getting back on track when you’re creating some run production. That’s the only thing I really care about, scoring runs and driving in runs.”

For Atlanta fans, it’s never to soon.