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KISSIMMEE http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-cliff-pennington-jersey , Fla. (AP) — When Ronald Acuna Jr. got back to the Atlanta Braves‘ clubhouse after getting his third hit of the game, Freddie Freeman acted surprised.“You should have kept going,” Freeman told him, “and gone for the cycle.”Acuna went 3 for 3 with a long home run and double off St. Louis opening day starter Miles Mikolas in Atlanta’s 5-0 exhibition win Tuesday. It was the kind of performance the Braves have come to expect from the 2018 NL Rookie of the Year, and the kind of day Acuna expects from himself.Good enough that former Braves great Dale Murphy sheepishly asked Acuna for his autograph, demonstrating the stature the 21-year-old outfielder has achieved after less than a full season in the big leagues.“I’ve felt good from the day we started camp, but as the games progressed I’ve felt even better,” he said through a translator. “I think with these last at-bats, just a little extra patience has gone into it. I’ve had good at-bats even if the results weren’t what we would have wanted, but things are progressing quickly and we kind of see the results now.”Acuna hit .293 with 26 home runs in 111 games last year, helping the Braves win the NL East after four straight losing seasons. His three homers are among nine hits in 25 at-bats this spring.The Braves open the season March 28 at Philadelphia. Last year Scott Feldman Jersey , Acuna was not brought up to the majors until April 25.“I’ve been anxious for the season to start since we got here to camp. I’ve felt ready, I’ve been wanting this to happen,” he said. “When the season starts is out of my control. All I can control is how I go about my business.”Acuna led off 66 times as a rookie and subtly suggested early in spring training that batting first is his preference. But he has batted fourth most of the time this spring, including Tuesday, behind Ender Inciarte, Josh Donaldson and Freeman.“The mentality is the same for me — see the ball, hit the ball,” he said. “As long as I’m in the lineup, I’m happy. Those decisions aren’t up to me.”Acuna figures to be in the Atlanta lineup for a while.“It’s an impressive set of skills,” observed Braves coach Walt Weiss. “The power and the speed combo is elite. He’s not just a power guy. I think he’s going to be a really good hitter his whole career, and when he gets rolling it’s fun to watch.”NOTES: Rookie RHP Bryse Wilson http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-cliff-pennington-jersey , continuing his long shot bid for one of the two unclaimed spots in the Braves’ season-opening pitching rotation, gave up one hit and struck out five in four innings. Wilson, a fourth-round draft choice in 2016, has given up two hits in seven innings in his two starts. ST. LOUIS (AP) — In a pivotal series for the Dodgers, rookie Walker Buehler came through with a masterful performance.Buehler allowed two hits in eight innings, Yasiel Puig homered twice and Los Angeles drew even with the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL wild-card race with a 3-0 victory on Friday night. The Dodgers also moved within one-half game of first-place Colorado in the NL West.Buehler (7-5) pitched beyond the seventh inning for the first time and earned his first victory since Aug. 17. He retired the first 13 batters before Paul DeJong singled to left field. Harrison Bader singled later in the fifth for the Cardinals’ only other hit.“This was probably the best pitching performance of the year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Not only Walker but across the board. Against a very good club in St. Louis on the road and obviously what’s at stake right now for each game. He wanted this moment and just coming out firing. His command. Just domination. He kind of did what he wanted to do tonight.”Buehler struck out nine and walked two. In two career starts against St. Louis, the right-hander has not allowed a run and has 18 strikeouts in 15 innings.“He’s got some serious weapons,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “He’s throwing 97-98 (mph), with command. When you can locate your fastball, regardless of velocity Jose Peraza Jersey , that’s a nice weapon. Then you do it with that velocity and then you do it with some cut. And his cutter, at least from the side, it looked like it had some depth. Then second time through the lineup, start mixing in a changeup and hitting with that, that’s a pretty potent weaponry right there.”The Dodgers and Cardinals are tied for the second NL wild-card position, four games behind Milwaukee for the top spot. But Los Angeles has its sights on the division crown and moved closer when the Rockies lost to San Francisco.“Sometimes there’s teams you match up well against,” Buehler said. “It’s hard to explain. It’s just the way the game works and luckily tonight that worked out.”Puig homered in the second off Jack Flaherty (8-7) and connected again in the ninth off Tyler Webb. It was his second multi-homer game of the season.“I was trying to do my best,” Puig said through a translator. “He threw a fastball there and I was able to connect with it. I can hit lefties sometimes and right there I was trying to find something up in the zone. I wasn’t expecting a home run but it happened.”In the seventh, Cody Bellinger scored on a passed ball by Yadier Molina.Kenley Jansen hit Yairo Munoz with a pitch to open the ninth but retired the next three batters to finish the two-hitter, earning his 35th save in 39 opportunities.Flaherty worked six innings, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He has 168 strikeouts this season http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-cliff-pennington-jersey , the fourth-best total for a rookie in franchise history.“We want to win. I don’t care about my line. I don’t care about anything other than winning,” Flaherty said. “It doesn’t matter how I pitched, I didn’t pitch well enough. He pitched better than I did.”TRAINER’S ROOMDodgers: Relievers John Axford and Tony Cingrani were scheduled to pitch in the California Championship Series for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday night. “They’re stacking the deck, trying to help them make their playoff push,” Roberts joked. “They’re supposed to go an inning each. We’ll see how they come out of it. Our hope is to get these guys back.” Axford could return to the majors after one appearance, while Cingrani (shoulder) would likely need more rehab work.Cardinals: IF Jedd Gyorko is likely to return to the starting lineup Saturday, manager Mike Shildt said. He drew a pinch-hit walk in the eighth inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Adolis Garcia.UP NEXTThe Cardinals send right-hander John Gant (7-5, 3.16 ERA) to the mound Saturday afternoon to make his third career appearance and first start against Los Angeles. Veteran lefty Rich Hill (8-5, 3.88) starts for the Dodgers.