Pence's 4 RBIs leads Astros to 8-3 win over Braves

"He's a nice little player," Gonzalez said. "He ran down a couple balls in the gaps. He has that speed game. He also hit a ball out of the ballpark. He's making a nice little show for himself here."

Rodriguez retired the next five batters after Mather before plunking Brian McCann with two outs in the third inning. He walked Chipper Jones but escaped unscathed again when he struck out Freeman.

"I thought Wandy was pretty good," Gonzalez said. "He got out of those jams early on, and we couldn't get anything going."

He threw a 1-2-3 fourth before a double by Lowe to start the fifth inning. But Rodriguez retired the next three to leave Lowe stranded.

Rodriguez walked Jones in the sixth, but faced the minimum after the Astros turned a double play.

Bourn, who leads the majors with 27 stolen bases, swiped the 200th of his career in the fifth inning.

NOTES: Atlanta OF Jason Heyward (right shoulder) began a rehabilitation assignment with Gwinnett on Monday. Gonzalez said he expects him to play two or three games before he is activated from the disabled list. ... An MRI performed Monday on the sprained right ankle of Houston OF Jason Bourgeois didn't show any damage and he entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch runner.

Kristie Rieken can be reached at http://twitter.com/kristieAP