ATLANTA -- Craig Kimbrel found ninth-inning drama before a big stretch by Freddie Freeman saved the night for the Braves. Justin Upton hit a three-run homer to continue another strong April, Ervin Santana earned his third win and the Atlanta Braves held off the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 on Friday night. Kimbrel gave up a leadoff single to Roger Bernadina and walked Zack Cozart to open the ninth. Kimbrel struck out Brayan Pena and Chris Heisey before earning his seventh save on Joey Vottos groundout. Freeman made a long stretch at first base for Chris Johnsons throw from third base on Heiseys groundball. Reds manager Bryan Price challenged first base umpire Vic Carapazzas ruling that Freemans foot remained on the bag. The call was confirmed, ending the game. "Freddie did a terrific job staying on the bag," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. He acknowledged he was nervous about the challenge before seeing the replay on the video board "and I felt kind of relaxed." Price said that when looking across the field he thought he saw "a huge gap" between Freemans foot and the bag. He said he agreed with the confirmed out call after seeing the replay. "I had a chance to come up here and look at our own video, which is what theyre getting in New York, and it was a confirmed out call," Price said. "They got the call right in the end, which is what were looking for." Two Cincinnati players left the game with injuries. Third baseman Todd Frazier was pulled in the fifth with tightness in his left leg. Catcher Devin Mesoraco strained his left hamstring and stumbled after rounding third base in the seventh, before limping across home plate. Price said he was protecting Frazier, who had previous tightness in his groin. Santana (3-0) gave up four runs on nine hits in 6 2-3 innings. Following singles by B.J. Upton and Freddie Freeman off Homer Bailey (1-2) in the first inning, Justin Upton hit his team-leading sixth homer. He leads the team with 15 RBIs. "Weve seen him do this before and carry us for a while," Gonzalez said. In 2013, Justin Upton led the majors with 12 homers in April, becoming the fastest player in Braves franchise history to reach the mark. He has hit 35 homers in April for his career, his highest total for any month. "Im just getting it going," said Upton, who is hitting .296 and leads the team with 15 RBIs. Freeman had three hits for Atlanta to shake a mini-slump. B.J. Upton, who was hitting .205, had one hit in his first game wearing prescription glasses. "Well see how the glasses work and if Ill keep them," he said. "I could see the ball better on both sides of the plate. It was good tonight." Bailey allowed five runs on nine hits in six innings. He allowed at least four earned runs for the fourth time in five starts this season and has a 6.15 ERA. The Braves increased their lead to 4-0 in the second on Jason Heywards RBI single. Evan Gattis drove in a run in the third for a 5-0 lead. Jay Bruce had a run-scoring single in the Reds two-run sixth. Cincinnati added two more in the seventh, knocking Santana out of the game. Mesoraco scored on Billy Hamiltons double. Votto had a run-scoring single off Luis Avilan. A strong defensive play by right fielder Jason Heyward helped Santana in the first inning. Votto doubled with one out in the first and moved to third on Phillips bloop single. Votto was thrown out at the plate on a strong throw by Heyward on Jay Bruces fly ball. Votto, sliding head-first, was tagged out in the batters box and never reached the plate. NOTES: Price said closer Aroldis Chapman, recovering from facial fractures and a mild concussion when hit by a line drive on March 19, will throw 35 to 40 pitches in batting practice on Saturday. If it goes well, it should be Chapmans final test before he is cleared for a minor league rehab assignment. ... Braves RHP David Hale will look for his first win of the season when he faces Reds RHP Mike Leake on Saturday. Jack Eichel Jersey .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr. Conor Sheary Sabres Jersey . “The shootout, theres nothing wrong with it, I think its an exciting part of the game but its just one small aspect,” said Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman. “Its a skill exhibition. If you can get it back closer to regular hockey and have it decided that way; that would be my preference.” “I dont think its a knock on the shootout, I think more of the managers would like to see it end in overtime,” added Washington Capitals GM George McPhee. http://www.sabresteamstoreonline.com/authentic-vladimir-sobotka-sabres-jersey/ .5 million, four-year contract with the Texas Rangers that could be worth $32. Conor Sheary Jersey . PAUL, Minn – The clock lingered for what seemed like an interminable two minutes and 51 seconds before Mark Fraser finally escaped to the bench during a wildly one-sided first period of an eventual loss to Boston. Dale Hawerchuk Jersey . The agreement comes a little more than one week after the video game manufacturer agreed to a $40 million settlement in a similar but separate case, bringing the total payout planned for athletes to $60 million, said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, and the NCAA.NEW ORLEANS -- Tyreke Evans sore right knee -- and long-term contract -- gave him every reason to sit out the final two games of a losing season with the Pelicans. Yet even as coaches and trainers encouraged him to rest, Evans was having none of it. Instead, he played some of his most relentless, productive and crowd-pleasing basketball of the season. He capped it off with 25 points and 10 assists on Wednesday night, and New Orleans closed out a difficult, injury riddled season with a 105-100 victory over the playoff-bound Houston Rockets. "I just want to have fun, man," Evans said. "It was my last game this year. ... I was hurt. I could have easily sat out, taken the back seat, but coach talked to us about finishing strong and thats what I wanted to do." Two nights earlier, Evans scored a career-high 41 points in a stunning victory over Oklahoma City. Against Houston, he enlivened the crowd with end-to-end drives, high razzle-dazzle dribbles and an array of midair contortions in order to get off shots in traffic near the basket. "He drove me crazy with some of his uh-oh plays, but these last two games, I hope he gets player of the week," coach Monty Williams said. "We needed these two games to go into the summer. He stepped up big-time and carried the team." The Rockets, who had already locked up the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, rested James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin. Still, the game was competitive as a number of role players sought to make the most of extended action. Troy Daniels, a rookie guard out of VCU whod scored only 20 points in 31 minutes all season, hit 6 3s and finished with a career-high 22 points. "I was ready to get out there," Daniels said. "It shows the coach has a lot of faith in me. Obviously I have a lot of work to do and a lot of progress to make, but it was a good start for me to get my confidence up." Evans gave New Orleans the lead for good with a driving layup with 2:35 left, then sealed it with a powerful move in which he wedged his way between Jordan Hamilton and Josh Poweell for a running, right-handed hook from the lane.dddddddddddd "It wasnt just about, We aint making the playoffs; lets pack it up," said guard Anthony Morrow, nodding at Evans. "When a guy who signs a long-term deal still plays the last two games of the season the way he did, it says a lot about him." Austin Rivers added 18 points and Morrow 15 for the Pelicans, who shot 52.4 per cent. Neither team led by more than single digits. New Orleans had the largest lead at 90-81, but Houston responded with a late 11-4 run that included 3s by Hamilton and Daniels, then took a brief 100-99 lead when Hamilton stole the ball and converted a fast-break lay-in with 2:51 left. Regular Houston starters Terrence Jones, who had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Patrick Beverly, who had 14 points, also played as if it mattered. Hamilton hit four 3s on his way to 14 points and Donatas Motiejunas had 11 points and 10 rebounds. "We werent going to change in the standings, so we played a bunch of guys that we hadnt played before," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "Its time to get some guys comfortable." Dwight Howard was among a minority of players who looked like as if he was merely going through the motions. He was 1 of 5 shooting, including a missed 3 after which he allowed a smirk, and grabbed four rebounds while turning the ball over three times. But Howard had more important things to think about with the fourth-seeded Rockets, who won 54 games this season, starting a playoff series against Portland on Sunday. Notes: After missing the past two games with a left ankle injury, Pelicans guard Brian Roberts played 4 minutes, long enough to make three free throws. That got him to 125 made foul shots this season, qualifying him for the official NBA lead in free throw shooting percentage at 93.9 per cent. "To have that, thats something thats special and something Ill never forget," Roberts said. ... Pelicans rookie C Jeff Withey tied a career high with five blocks. ... The loss was Houstons first against the Pelicans in four meetings this season. ' ' '