KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Mike Hampton had another shaky outing, but Julio Franco strengthened his bid to make Atlanta’s opening day roster by going 3-for-3 as the Braves beat a split squad of St. Louis Cardinals 8-7 Monday.

Hampton, acquired in a three-way trade during the offseason, gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits and four walks in five innings. His spring ERA is 7.07.

“I threw more good pitches than bad today,” Hampton said.

Jason Marquis, who relieved Hampton, allowed five hits and three runs in four innings but earned the victory when Adam LaRoche drove in Billy McCarthy with the winning run in the ninth.

Franco hit an RBI double and pushed his spring batting average to .333. Andruw Jones went 2-for-2 with two RBIs for Atlanta, raising his average to .500.

St. Louis starter Cal Eldred, trying to lock up a spot in the rotation, gave up six runs on nine hits in three innings. Albert Pujols, who had had hit safely in all 15 games he had played, was 0-for-3 with a pair of walks.

Franco, one of three candidates for the first base job, had two singles, stole a base and scored a run. Franco’s age is listed as 41, but some think he is even older. His first minor league season was 1978.

“Some of these guys weren’t even born when I came to my first spring training, but they know I can still play this game,” said Franco, who was in the Philadelphia Phillies’ spring camp in 1979.

“I can swing the bat, I can still field and obviously I can still run pretty well.”

Franco shared first base duties with Matt Franco last season, playing in 125 games. The two combined to hit .297 with 12 home runs and 60 RBIs. The Braves, looking for more production, signed free agent Robert Fick, an outfielder when he played for Detroit. Fick has returned to first base, his minor league position.

Fick is hitting .303 with one home run and seven RBIs in 33 at-bats. Matt Franco is hitting .188 with no home runs and four RBIs in 32 at-bats. Julio Franco has no homers and six RBIs in 30 at-bats.

“I haven’t made any decision on first base other than I’m going to take all three with us to Atlanta,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “I think they’ve all looked pretty good at times, but there is still time. Let’s see what happens when spring training is over.