Worth noting

• After being given the day off Wednesday, Jason Heyward was back in the leadoff spot in the Braves' lineup Friday.

• With Heyward back in the lineup, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez has gone back to batting the pitcher eighth. Friday's game at St. Louis marks the ninth time in the previous 10 games that Gonzalez has batted the pitcher eighth.

"It's a small sample, but it seems like we're scoring some runs, and then the other day we didn't do it, because I gave Jason the day off against [Giants lefty Madison] Bumgarner and it being a 12 o'clock game and we really had only one leadoff guy. We've been leading off Heyward, and [Tyler] Pastornicky becomes your second leadoff hitter in the nine-hole."

• Friday night's starter, Ervin Santana, is making his third career start against the Cardinals. He enters the matchup 1-1 with a 4.73 ERA against St. Louis. This season, Santana is 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA.

• The Braves' pitching staff entered Friday leading the Majors with a 2.76 ERA. Atlanta starters have posted a quality start in 22 of the team's last 28 games.