Braves' Mallex Smith: Will continue to hit ninth in batting order

Smith will continue to bat ninth in the Atlanta lineup whenever he is in the lineup, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

He hit ninth in Boston with the designated hitter Thursday, and then ninth again Sunday because Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez elected to bat pitcher Julio Teheran eighth versus the Cubs. In those two games, Smith went 6-for-8 (.750) with three doubles, two RBI and a stolen base. Before that, he was hitting .136 in 44 at-bats.