hot and cold

No hitter in the majors has been hotter in July than Seth Smith. But the Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss alumnus took a chilly 0-for-4 today as San Diego fell to Atlanta 2-0 at Turner Field. Smith is batting .385 this month. He hit .203 in June, .354 in May and .246 in April. That is the definition of mercurial. For the year, the left-handed hitting outfielder is at .295 with 11 home runs, 31 RBIs and 42 runs, numbers that have to thrill the punch-less Padres. He batted just .240 and .253 in Oakland the previous two years. Smith went 3-for-8 in the Atlanta series, with all three hits coming in Friday’s opener, the only one of the four games the Padres won. He struck out three times today, twice against Ervin Santana, then again against Craig Kimbrel in the ninth. … Former Mississippi Braves star Evan Gattis belted his 17th homer for the Braves today; it was his first since June 18. He spent a spell on the disabled list during that time.