When Jason Heyward drew six walks in five games beginning Sept. 7 in Philadelphia, he showed Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez glimpses of his old self.

Jason Heyward is greeted by teammates after scoring the Braves' only run in a 1-0 win on Saturday. Heyward walked to leadoff the inning.

That has prompted Gonzalez to start Heyward in 11 of the 12 games since, over the speedy Jose Constanza, with an eye toward getting Heyward going for a possible return to the postseason.

"You see some good at-bats, you see walks, you see him getting on base," Gonzalez said. "(If) you get that big boy there swinging the bat like he's capable of doing, that's a big plus for us."

Indications from Gonzalez are that the move has more to do with what he's hoping to get from Heyward than what he hasn't seen lately from Constanza, who has hit .154 (4-for-26) in limited action since he sprained his ankle against the Cubs in Chicago.

Heyward drew a leadoff walk in the eighth inning on Saturday and came around the score the game's only run. He reached base four times Sunday, going 3-for-4 with two infield hits and an intentional walk against the Mets.

Heyward has drawn as many walks in his past 12 games – 11 – as he did in his previous 44 games from July 5 to Sept. 6. His eye was one of his greatest assets in his break-out rookie season, when he was tied for fourth in the National League with 91 walks. Heyward had 49 at the end of play Sunday.

"I'm trying to be patient," Heyward said. "I'm trying to do what works for me, what helped me to be successful to get here and helped me last year."

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