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 The rookie second baseman had a three-run double in the third
inning as the Atlanta Braves gave Alex Wood an early cushion in a
rain-interrupted 8-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on
Sunday at Turner Field.
Wood (7-7) retired the last 13 batters he faced and the only run
against him was a home run by John Mayberry Jr. in the second
inning. The left-hander allowed three hits, walked none and struck
out eight.
La Stella, batting .297 after his first 46 games, is 6-for-7 with
three doubles, a triple and 13 RBIs when he comes up with the bases
loaded.
"I don't really know what that's about, but I'll take it," La Stella
said.
"Hopefully he'll keep doing that the rest of the year," Wood said.
"It's pretty incredible."
This time the left-handed hitter connected on a 3-2 pitch with two
outs after Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (4-10) had hit two batters
and walked two more, forcing in a run.
"You kind of got to keep your adrenalin in check," La Stella said.
"Bases loaded is a big situation and the more you can keep calm and
keep your emotions in check the better success you'll have."
 La Stella added another double later in a 2-for-4 outing and is
batting .353 (18-for-51) in his past 13 games.
"Tommy keeps finding that gap (in the outfield) and he usually does
it with men on base," manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
The victory, which was interrupted for one hour and 39 minutes in
the sixth inning, gave the Braves (54-44) the weekend series and
improved their record to 16-7 since June 24. They are in a virtual
tie for first place with Washington in the National League East.
Braves third baseman Chris Johnson hit a two-run homer and left
fielder Justin Upton was 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored.
He was also hit by a pitch, though, and left the game late as a
precaution when his arm stiffened.
Kendrick, who came in with an 11.37 ERA for the first inning,
retired the Braves in order this time only to quickly falter after
the Phillies (43-55) had given him an early lead.
Upton doubled to open the second inning and Johnson hit a 1-0 sinker
over the fence in center field for his seventh homer of the season.
Then the Braves scored four times in the third as Kendrick
completely lost his control. He hit first baseman Freddie Freeman
and Upton in succession to load the bases and walked right fielder
Jason Heyward to force in a run.
Not wanting to force in another, Kendrick left a pitch in La
Stella's hot zone and result was a drive to right-center field that
cleared the bases.
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"It's been a tough year for me," Kendrick said. "I don't know why.
It's just been a bad year. Guys have bad years. So far, that's how
it's been."
The Phillies had gone up briefly in the top of the second on the
sixth homer of the season by Mayberry, who was filling in for Ryan
Howard at first base. The homer came on a 1-0 fastball, the drive
just clearing the fence near the left field foul pole. "That was a
bad miss by me," said Wood, who quickly bounced back.
"Woody was good," Gonzalez said. "If it wasn't for the rain delay,
he would have gone out for the seventh."
Mario Hollands replaced Kendrick after the delay and walked four
straight batters before giving up an RBI hit to Freeman that made it
8-1.
"It was all about free passes," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said.
"We basically gave them nine free passes -- seven of them walks, two
hit batsmen. I believe five or six of them scored."
Phillies right fielder Marlon Byrd, who was 2-for-4, hit his 19th
homer of the season leading off the ninth inning against reliever
David Carpenter.
NOTES: C Evan Gattis (bulging disk in back) played his fourth rehab
game for Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday and is slated to be activated
from the disabled list on Monday, when the Braves open a four-game
home series with Miami. Gattis has been sidelined since June 27. ...
LHP Cliff Lee will come off the DL and start against San Francisco
on Monday as the Phillies begin a week-long homestand with the first
of four games against the Giants. Lee, sidelined since May 18
because of a strained elbow, is 4-4 with a 3.18 ERA in 10 starts.
... The Braves play four games against the Marlins and then conclude
the 11-game homestand with four against San Diego.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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