Bonifacio faltering early in pinch role

MILWAUKEE — Emilio Bonifacio seemed poised to get his career back on track after two dismal seasons at the major league level in 2015 and 2016.

But 20 games into the season, Bonifacio was struggling to get into a rhythm and had fared particularly poorly as a pinch-hitter, his main role. The veteran utility player was 0 for 10 with no walks and three strikeouts as a pinch-hitter before Friday, the worst statistics on a team with the least-productive pinch-hitters in the National League.

“It’s kind of like sometimes, your timing goes away,” said Bonifacio, a career .232 hitter in 95 pinchhit appearances before this season. “I just keep working hard, man. I know at some point everything’s going to turn around. I’m just going to keep my mind positive. Have a good approach in every at-bat.”

Braves pinch-hitters were a league-worst 3 for 32 (.094) with one extra-base hit (double) before Friday night’s series opener at Milwaukee, and their .125 slugging percentage from pinch-hitters was 60 points lower than the next-worst among NL teams.

Bonfacio, 32, hit .278 (15 for 54) with a home run and a .361 OBP in 23 spring-training games. He got multiple at-bats in most of those Grapefruit League games he played, and most hitters will tell you it’s easier to hone your swing and get your timing down when getting regular playing time rather than the sporadic nature of pinch-hitting and being a utility player.

However, Bonifacio also knows that’s a primary part of his job and that his experience as a pinch-hitter was one reason the Braves put him on the opening-day roster. If he can’t do the job, they’ll eventually try to find someone else who can.

“I know that’s part of my job, coming from the bench,” said Bonifacio, who was 2 for 18 overall (.111). “I want to have those at-bats like I was in spring (training). I’ve done it before, so I’ve got to keep prepared.”

Phillips could start today: Brandon Phillips was out of the Braves lineup Friday night for the second consecutive game since straining his left groin, but the veteran second baseman had progressed and was expected to start today in the second game of the three-game series against the Brewers.

“He’s doing good,” said manager Brian Snitker.

Phillips has made steady progress in his recovery since leaving Wednesday’s game against the Mets after the first inning. He strained the groin sliding on a first-inning stolen base, then tweaked it a little more fielding a grounder in the bottom of the inning and left the game before the second inning.

Phillips extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in his only plate appearance Wednesday before leaving. He has a .390 average and two homers during the hitting streak and ranked ninth in the majors with a .352 overall batting average before Friday.

A day after the injury, Phillips was adamant Thursday that he would not require a stint on the 10-day disabled list and expected he’d be ready during the weekend series in Milwaukee.

Jace Peterson was 4 for 9 with two RBIs in two games filling in for Phillips at second base before Friday.