Schafer scratched with left quad contusion

ATLANTA -- Outfielder Jordan Schafer was scratched from Wednesday afternoon's starting lineup with a left quadriceps contusion after fouling a pitch off his leg in the bottom of the seventh inning of Tuesday night's 3-1 win over the Mets. B.J. Upton, inserted to take his place, is batting leadoff and manning center field.

Schafer, who was initially given a day of rest on Tuesday to help him recover from a minor lower back strain, entered in the seventh as a pinch-hitter for Braves starter Kris Medlen. After hitting a foul ball off his leg just above the knee, he stepped out of the batter's box and required several moments to collect himself before resuming the at-bat, which concluded with a groundout to shortstop. Schafer appeared noticeably hobbled as he ran down the first-base line, but he did remain in the game to play right field and finished out the victory without further incident.

It is unlikely the outfielder -- who turned 27 on Wednesday -- would take any painful foul ball lightly; he missed a few weeks of action after fouling a pitch off his right ankle on June 26 during a game in Kansas City. Just before the All-Star break, the Braves revealed that Schafer had developed an intraosseous stress fracture in his foot from the foul ball that would force him to miss an additional four weeks.

Schafer has begun to settle into the role of leadoff man and everyday outfielder for the Braves, who have seen nearly every one of their outfield options miss time with injuries this year. In his past eight starts, Schafer has hit .324 with four RBIs from the leadoff spot. He has also stolen seven bases over that span, pushing his total to 20 for the season.