J-Up watches average go down on the road

MIAMI -- While B.J. Upton has flourished over the past two weeks, his younger brother has continued to find life on the road to be much more frustrating than it has been at home, where he has performed like a legit National League MVP Award candidate.

Justin Upton has batted .400 with 10 home runs and a 1.273 OPS in the 100 at-bats he has compiled at Turner Field this year. He ranks second among all Major Leaguers in each of these three home categories. But he has batted just .194 with three home runs and a .604 OPS in the 93 at-bats he has collected on the road.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez opted to give the younger Upton a chance to rest as the Braves concluded a five-game road trip on Sunday against the Marlins.

B.J. Upton entered Sunday's series finale having hit .255 with a .357 OPS in the 13 games he has played since opting to limit his pre-swing bat waggle. He has struck out just once every seven plate appearances during this span. He had registered a 2.8 plate appearances/strikeout ratio in his previous 39 games.