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NL: Castilla on timely hot streak

ATLANTA -- It was on a diving defensive stop, the kind the Braves signed him for, that Vinny Castilla's season went south.

The former Rays third baseman injured his right wrist at midseason. He wound up hitting .232, 56 points off his career average, with 12 home runs.

"It was a terrible year for me personally, but we were winning," Castilla said. "I tried to keep playing good defense, do whatever I could to help us win."

But within the past month, Castilla's hitting has come around.

After Sept. 13, Castilla hit .325 (13-for-40) with three home runs and seven RBIs. In the last two series of the season, he went 6-for-15, including home runs in back-to-back games against the Mets.

"Vinny really looks good," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "He's been hitting the ball hard for a while now. I'm really pleased with him, to see him get that pop back. He looks super. He's getting hot at a good time. A real good time."

WOODY VS. MIGUEL: Right-handers Woody Williams of St. Louis and Miguel Batista of Arizona will start Game 3 Saturday.

Williams hasn't pitched since Sept. 20 because of a side injury, but he and manager Tony La Russa said they expected the right-hander to be ready. Williams pitched a side session at Bank One Ballpark.

Arizona manager Bob Brenly selected Batista over Rick Helling.

Brenly also opted to start Mark Grace at first in the opener. Grace was benched in favor of power-hitter Erubiel Durazo for much of the second half, but Durazo has struggled and Grace is a better defender.

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