Nate McLouth gave it the old college try, but in the end the left hamstring injury that he sustained on Aug. 8 forced the Atlanta Braves center fielder to the 15-day disabled list.McLouth originally sat out three games for the Braves. He played on Aug. 14 and then was forced to leave the game early the next day after re-injuring the hamstring. His injury is considered mild and he is expected back in the minimum.
McLouth has played in 56 games since coming over to the Braves from Pittsburgh in a trade in early June. He's batting .260 in an Atlanta uniform and has six home runs and 10 stolen bases.
Replacing him on the Atlanta roster is 28-year-old outfielder Reid Gorecki. The long-time minor-leaguer was batting .286 with nine home runs and 14 stolen bases at Triple-A Gwinnett prior to learning the news of his call-up to the Braves, just barely two hours prior to first pitch.
Ryan Church and Matt Diaz will, most likely, get extra at-bats filling in for McLouth while Gorecki will be used as outfield depth. Church and Diaz make a solid platoon combo as Church hits rather poorly (.197) against left-handed pitchers and Diaz can't seem to master (.228) right-handers.
