"While Brian McCann has fought one of the worst slumps of his career, the Braves have sputtered down the stretch in a playoff race.

This is particularly difficult for the Braves' six-time All-Star catcher, who takes a lot of pride in being a hitter his team can count on.

Since returning Aug. 14 from a stint on the disabled list for a strained oblique, he was 12-for-78 (.154) with five homers, 10 RBIs, 21 strikeouts and a .283 on-base percentage in 22 games before Saturday.

The 21 strikeouts in 78 at-bats are particularly unusual for McCann, who has never struck out 100 times in a season and had only 64 strikeouts in 509 at-bats in 2008."