ATLANTA -- Manager Fredi Gonzalez says Tommy La Stella is playing as if he is looking for another promotion. Air Vapormax Saldi . Thats how comfortable the rookie second baseman has looked in his first three weeks in the major leagues. La Stella had three hits, including a two-run double in Atlantas four-run sixth, and the Braves beat Hector Santiago and the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 on Sunday night. La Stella is hitting .411 with at least two hits in nine of his 16 games. "I think La Stella thinks theres another league, the way he carries himself," Gonzalez said. "So it doesnt surprise me that he feels this comfortable right away." La Stella has put a lock on the second base job with strong defence and his impressive start at the plate. "I wouldnt say surprised," La Stella said when asked about his continued strong hitting. "Anytime you have a shot, especially in the big leagues, you want to start off on the right foot. Ive been able to do that and hopefully I can keep going." Evan Gattis and Justin Upton also had run-scoring singles in the sixth as the Braves rallied against Santiago (0-7). Jason Heyward homered in the seventh and made two strong defensive plays in right field to take hits away from Mike Trout. Trout had three hits, including a homer. Erick Aybar also homered for the Angels before leaving the game with a sore left hip. Manager Mike Scioscia said he hopes Aybar can play Monday. He said Aybar first hurt his hip in Saturday nights game. Anthony Vavaro (2-1) had three strikeouts in two perfect innings for the win. The Braves moved back into first place in the NL East by winning two of three from the Angels, who remain in second in the AL West. David Carpenter gave up a single to Trout before hitting Albert Pujols with a pitch with one out in the ninth. Craig Kimbrel struck out Josh Hamilton and Howie Kendrick for his 20th save. Santiago, trying for his first win of 2014, allowed only two hits through five innings before fading in the sixth. He was charged with four runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings. "Hector, really, for five innings was really on top of things," Scioscia said. "Things unraveled a bit but I still think Hector pitched a really strong ballgame." Atlantas Mike Minor matched his career high by allowing 11 hits for the second straight game. He gave up three runs in five innings. With one out in the sixth, B.J. Upton walked and moved to third on Freddie Freemans single to centre. Gattis extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a run-scoring single to right field. Freeman scored on Justin Uptons infield hit that David Freese couldnt handle at third base. Chris Johnsons single off Kevin Jepsen loaded the bases to set up La Stellas double to right-centre. Johnson was thrown out at the plate. Aybar hit his fifth homer leading off the second. He reached on a fielders choice grounder in the third before being removed from the game in the bottom of the inning. John McDonald took over at shortstop. Trout raced in to make a tumbling catch of B.J. Uptons sinking liner to end the third inning. Heyward took a hit away from Trout with a similar catch in the fourth. Heyward again denied Trout of a hit in the sixth. Sprinting toward the wall, Heyward jumped and reached up at the warning track to catch a long fly ball before running into the wall. "If Jason doesnt make those plays, we might lose the game," Gonzalez said. Heyward hit his eighth homer off Cam Bedrosian. B.J. Upton singled, stole second and scored from third on Bedrosians wild pitch. NOTES: The Angels placed RHP Fernando Salas on the 15-day DL with shoulder inflammation. Salas pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win in Saturday nights 11-6 victory over the Braves in 13 innings. RHP Dane De La Rosa was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake and pitched the eighth. ... Trout had seven hits, including two homers, and drove in five runs in the three-game series. ... The Braves signed OF Braxton Davidson, the teams first-round pick from Arden, North Carolina. ... The Braves open a three-game home series against Philadelphia on Monday night when RHP Julio Teheran faces Phillies LHP Cole Hamels. The Angels open a four-game series at Cleveland with RHP Jered Weaver matched against Indians RHP Trevor Bauer. Air Max 270 Bianche Scontate . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Vapormax Plus Italia .J. -- Patrick Sharp is on one of those streaks.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek would have preferred to coast to the finish Friday night. His young players seemed determined not to make it that easy on him. The Suns nearly squandered a 17-point lead in the final 4 minutes before escaping with a 98-91 victory over Charlotte. The Bobcats got within five in the final minute, but couldnt get over the hump. "Im not sure what we were doing out there for a while, but well take it," Hornacek said with a sense of relief in his voice. "We lost the last four games so well take any win regardless of how it looks." Channing Frye scored a season-high 20 points and P.J. Tucker was perfect from the field as the Suns beat the Bobcats for the fourth consecutive time. Tucker scored 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting. He drained three 3-pointers and his only miss of the night came on a late free throw. Goran Dragic added 14 points and eight assists two nights after scoring 31 in a loss to Sacramento. Gerald Green chipped in with 14 points and Markieff Morris had 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench. "Man, Ill take a win but that was pretty sketchy at the end," Frye said of the series of missed shots and turnovers in the final 4 minutes. "Were young and still trying to figure out (how to close games), but winning is winning. Ill take that any day of the week." Gerald Henderson scored 17 points and Kemba Walker had 16 to lead the Bobcats, who have lost three of four. Al Jefferson returned to the starting lineup and had nine points and six rebounds after missing the previous four games with an ankle injury. The Suns led 74-63 early in the fourth quarter when they went on a 10-0 run, with Green knocking down a baseline jumper and Frye and Marcus Morris connecting on 3-pointers to push the lead to 21. That brought boos from the home crowd in Charlotte for the first time under new coach Steve Clifford with 9 minutes left in the game. "It was like we were a step slower and we made some mental mistakes and turned the ball over," Jefferson said. "We juust didnt have it tonight. Yeezy Boost 380 Italia. " Still, the Bobcats showed theyre starting to get used to playing with a low post presence like Jefferson, something Clifford has said would take some time given how little Jefferson played in the preseason due to ankle issues. On one possession, Henderson fed Jefferson in the low post, got the ball back and then returned it to Jefferson, who scored on a layup while drawing a foul. "We have to learn to play off Al," Clifford said. "They played small and when teams play like that we need to be able to pound them. We have to be able to get him the ball. Again, thats not an easy thing. Post-up basketball, as Ive said before, is the hardest thing to get good at." Said Jefferson: "I think its just a matter of game reps. (But) its not something Im panicking about." The Suns jumped out to a 55-44 lead in the first half behind 11 points from Frye. Miles Plumlee was strong on the boards early for the Suns and finished with 11 rebounds. Walker, who excited Bobcats fans Wednesday night with 31 points against Brooklyn, scored just three on 1-of-3 shooting in the first half and Charlotte didnt make a 3-pointer. The Suns continue their road trip with stops in Orlando and Miami. "We needed a win," Tucker said. "Its been a tough four games for us. Were on the road now and needed to get a win. It got a little crazy at the end out here, but we finished and got the win." Frye said it helped that the Suns didnt put pressure on themselves for a change. "Were just having fun out there," he said. "I think I was more relaxed today. When you start losing everything you start to get real tight, so we cant be like that. We just have to get out there and have fun." NOTES: With Jefferson back in the lineup, Bobcats centre Bismack Biyombo didnt play after averaging more than 20 minutes over the previous four games. ... Charlotte finished 3 of 14 from 3-point range -- with all the field goals coming in the fourth quarter. ... Dragic has scored in double figures in six straight games. ' ' '
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