Chat » Tlusty or Rask for Raycroft,"

ATLANTA -- Manager Fredi Gonzalez says Tommy La Stella is playing as if he is looking for another promotion. 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. Nicklas Lidstrom Jersey . -- Floridas smothering defence returned to form just in time for the third-ranked Gators to keep their winning streak going. Gordie Howe Jersey .S.-Cuba relations means baseball prospects get off the island and into the major leagues without payoffs to smugglers and threats from kidnappers, its hard to see the downside. http://www.cheapredwingsjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-johan-franzen-jersey . Dragic was a game-time decision because of a sore right ankle that had kept him out of Wednesdays loss at Utah, but played all but the last 10 seconds of the second half in the first 40-point game for a Phoenix player since Amare Stoudemires 44 on March 19, 2010. Brett Hull Jersey . The Maple Leafs may not have had a pick until the third round, but they have made the biggest move of the second day of the Draft, dealing defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and a fourth-round pick in the draft to the St. Alex Delvecchio Jersey . - A Tuesday funeral is planned in Toronto for 20-year-old Saginaw Spirit forward Terry Trafford.BOSTON -- The Toronto Maple Leafs dont know for sure if Jonathan Bernier will be a franchise goaltender. But they acquired the 24-year-old from the Los Angeles Kings with hopes of finding a long-term solution at the position. "Theres always a gamble when youre taking a young player, but we felt that the gamble was worth taking with the upside that we think that Jonathan has," Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis said. Seven years ago Monday, the Boston Bruins took a gamble, too. They sent veteran goalie Andrew Raycroft to Toronto for the rights to first-round draft pick Tuukka Rask. Now, Rask is in the Stanley Cup final with the Bruins while the Maple Leafs go into the off-season hoping that a tandem of Bernier and James Reimer can get the job done. "We feel weve got two of the top young goaltenders in the league right now," Nonis said. "I dont think you can be deep enough at that position." Former Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr. was dealing from depth in 2006. Prospect Justin Pogge had just finished a season with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League in which he went 38-10-6 with a 1.72 goals-against average and .926 save percentage, and 26-year-old Mikael Tellqvist was also in the system. Rask was the Maple Leafs pick at No. 21, and though he was ranked high, he represented something of an unknown.ddddddddddddSo much so that when the Raycroft trade happened, Bruins interim GM Jeff Gorton considered taking forward Jiri Tlusty instead. "It was like Tlusty or Rask for Raycroft," said Peter Chiarelli, who became Bostons GM in July 2006. "There was a lot of discussion at both ends about it. It was decided that it would be Rask from Bostons end." Raycroft gave up the most goals in the NHL in 2006-07 and lasted only two seasons in Toronto. Rask was Tim Thomas backup on Bostons 2011 Cup-winning team and is now a legitimate elite goaltender. At the tale end of a long playoff run with the Bruins, the trade is far from Rasks mind. "I was just happy to be part of any organization at that point," Rask said. "Maybe they saw something." Now, the Maple Leafs see something in Bernier, who is more established at this level than Rask was then. Nonis hopes Toronto can cash in on Berniers "pedigree of success." "Hes still young and I still think that hes got a long way to go in terms of development," he said. "A lot of goalies continue to get better well into their late 20s and early 30s, and I think that thats something we can expect from him, as well." ' ' '