JUPITER, Fla. (AP) - Lance Lynn rebounded from a bad outing to strike out his final eight batters and 10 overall in four innings Thursday during the St. Louis Cardinals' 11-0 win against the Atlanta Braves.
Lynn ended his stint by fanning Justin Upton, Evan Gattis and Chris Johnson.
"Today was a good day," Lynn said. "The ball felt good coming out of my hand. I was able to make pitches today."
The Cardinals said the Elias Sports Bureau determined Lynn is the only Cardinal to strike out 10 or more in spring training in the last 20 years. As Lynn headed to the clubhouse, the dozen or so Cardinals in the bullpen jumped up to congratulate and hug him.
Lynn had allowed five runs in 11/3 innings of relief against Miami in his previous appearance. On Thursday he allowed only one hit and walked none. He got a strikeout on every type of pitch other than his curveball.
"Everything was in the strike zone, and it was down for the most part, so that's good," Lynn said.
Atlanta starter Freddy Garcia gave up four runs - three earned - and six hits in four innings.
Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina hit RBI doubles in the first, and Jhonny Peralta's two-out double drove in Holliday in the third. Xavier Scruggs hit a three-run double in a seven-run sixth.
Starting Time
Injuries are prompting Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez to prepare for the possibility of entering the season with a four-man rotation. Originally signed as insurance, Garcia would be among those four.
"I think he's more valuable than just depth right now," Gonzalez said. "He's going to be in the rotation."
The Braves won't need a fifth starter until April 12. Gonzalez hopes newly signed Ervin Santana would be ready to join the rotation by then.
Trainer's Room
St. Louis pitcher Jaime Garcia (shoulder) returned from Birmingham, Ala., where he was receiving therapy. The Cardinals hoped Garcia would be the lone left-hander in their starting rotation but he has not thrown a ball since experiencing soreness in his surgically-repaired shoulder during the second week of spring training. Cardinals manager Mike Mathney did not give a timetable for Garcia's activities.
Gonzalez said the Braves have been cautious with Ramiro Pena's surgically-repaired shoulder, but he has no concerns over whether Pena will fill Atlanta's utility role. "He's going to be our guy," Gonzalez said.
Replay Rewind
St. Louis manager Mike Matheny joked he heard from "everybody in the commissioner's office" about his comments regarding a close play at third Tuesday he felt should have been overturned by video review. Matheny said because the camera angles the replay official saw were different from the broadcast angles, he wanted to know whether what the team saw in the broadcast angles would have been clear and conclusive enough to overturn the call.
"I wanted "inconclusive' to kind of have some barriers," said Matheny, a proponent of replay review. "How much are they going to have to see?"
Comfortable With Gattis
Gattis caught back-to-back games for the first time this year and went 0-for-3 at the plate. Gonzalez said he is expecting Gattis to catch 110 games this season.
"He caught 40-some games and he did a nice job," Gonzalez said of 2013, when Gattis backed up Brian McCann. "I don't think he's a guy we are going to have to worry about behind the plate."
Moving Around
Jason Heyward has yet to play center field this spring training, but Gonzalez didn't rule out the possibility of him playing there once the regular season starts. "That option is always there," Gonzalez said.
Prospect Watch
With St. Louis outfield prospect Oscar Taveras sidelined by ankle and hamstring issues, Stephen Piscotty is making the most of his playing time.
The Cardinals' outfielder was hitting .389 entering Thursday's game and made a sliding catch on a Gattis line drive in right field to end the first inning.
"He's squaring the ball up and doing a nice job in the outfield, too," Matheny said.
After the game, Taveras was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.