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Gonzales, Cardinals topple Braves 6-2

Sports

March 11th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Left-hander Marco Gonzales strengthened his bid for a spot in the St. Louis rotation by allowed one hit over four scoreless innings in the Cardinals’ 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. Gonzales, who didn’t give up a run over two innings in his first spring start, struck out three and walked one. The only hit off the 23-year-old was a two-out double by first baseman Freddie Freeman in the first inning.

A first-round draft choice in 2013, Gonzalez came up to the Cardinals late last year and won twice in relief during the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was 4-2 with a 4.15 ERA in 10 regular-season games, including five starts. Braves starter Alex Wood allowed two unearned runs in the third inning before leaving with two outs. The left-hander gave up three hits, walked two and struck out one.

First baseman Matt Adams had a sacrifice fly off Wood and catcher Yadier Molina followed with a run-scoring single in the third.