ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves have placed catcher Evan Gattis on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique.
The Braves announced the move before Tuesday's doubleheader against the New York Mets. Infielder Tyler Pastornicky was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.
Gattis injured himself on his final at-bat of a 2-1 victory over the Mets on Monday night. Brian McCann was on deck to pinch hit when Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer to win the game in the ninth inning.
The 26-year-old Gattis has been one of baseball's most surprising players. He earned a backup job in spring training as a non-roster player and quickly increased his role with a penchant for dramatic homers.
He is second on the Braves in homers (14) and RBIs (37) while batting .252.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Gattis suffered the injury swinging and that the Braves will miss the flexibility of having three catchers available.
"Hopefully we caught it early enough, kind of calm that down," Gonzalez said, adding that according to head trainer Jeff Porter, "usually, if you're a right-handed hitter, the right side, it's better than the left side, as far as it's not as severe."
Gonzalez said he saw Gattis Tuesday morning "and they were poking on him and he was hurt."
Gattis told Gonzalez that he was OK throwing and after he injured himself during his at-bat, he didn't swing any more.
"I thought it was his shoulder," Gonzalez said. "You know how he does that funky thing with his bat. But he came back in and he said it was his oblique. I said, `Are you sure it's not a little prick in your paw, big bear?'"
