"Martin Prado is playing with a sore groin, but said he'd use neither it nor the pinkie finger he broke on July 30 as an excuse for his recent offensive struggles.

The Braves third baseman and No. 3 hitter was batting .247 with no homers, 11 RBIs and a .284 on-base percentage in his past 23 games before Wednesday, and was 5-for-31 (.161) with one extra-base hit and one RBI in his past eight games.

"I've pushed through this before," said Prado, who has played through previous groin injuries. "I don't have any excuses. I don't want to rest. I don't have that in my mind right now."

He knows some outside observers have suggested he be dropped in the batting order or benched until healthy, but Prado said he's got to stop worrying about what others thing.

In Monday's 3-1 loss to the Phillies, he hit a long, would-be homer that drifted about 10 feet outside the foul pole, then lined into a double play on the next pitch. That's the kind of luck he's seemed to have recently on the balls he has hit hard.

"All you can do is swing the bat, and that's what I'm doing," he said. "It sucks that I've been struggling now. But it feels like I'm putting too much pressure on myself."