Justin Upton exits game with left hamstring strain

In the midst of Thursday afternoon’s loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves outfielder Justin Upton was forced to the bench with appeared to be a left leg injury. Shortly following his exit, the team officially announced that Upton is day-to-day with a mild left hamstring strain.

Originally, the “best case scenario” appeared to be that Upton simply endured a cramp, but a mild strain is certainly on the positive side of the sliding scale. The 26-year-old outfielder has been hot at the plate in recent days, and for the season, Justin Upton has posted a .281/.358/.505 slash line, including a productive day on Thursday in which he reached base on three occasions.

In his absence (for however long it continues), Fredi Gonzalez has a couple of interesting options. Evan Gattis could be deployed in the outfield in order to attempt to keep the offense afloat, or Gonzalez could go with the combination of both Emilio Bonifacio and B.J. Upton next to Jason Heyward. Hopefully, the injury timeline for Justin Upton won’t keep him off the field long, as his bat is desperately needed in the lineup.