Gonzales continues to sparkle - STLtoday.com

• Young lefthander Marco Gonzales did nothing to harm his bid for a berth in the Cardinals' rotation by holding the Miami Marlins to four hits and one run over 4 2/3 innings Tuesday as the Cardinals beat Miami 7-1. . Gonzales, who became a... He tossed 41 strikes out of 67 pitches on Tuesday as he continued his fight with Carlos Martinez and Jaime Garcia for one remaining starter's job. The 23-year-old, less than two years removed from college at Gonzaga, where he was a top hitter, also singled in a run as pitchers batted for the first time this spring. Gonzales said he didn't pay attention to whatever pitching competition he is involved in. "I’m going at-bat to at-bat," he said. Gonzales said he had his best curveball in any game this season. That is one of the pitches manager Mike Matheny and pitching Derek Lilliquist wanted him to add to his fastball-changeup mix. But his changeup came into play as he fanned Giancarlo Stanton on that off speed delivery to end the first inning. “I wanted to show him that I could throw strikes, show him that I could be on either side of the plate," said Gonzales. As to the long foul ball, Gonzales said, “That’s exactly what it was _ it was a strike. I look at it as setting him up. For me, setting up the outside part of the plate after that with my. Source: www.stltoday.com