Braves right-hander Julio Teheran made good on his pledge to throw more fastballs in his start against the Reds on Sunday.
Teheran threw fastballs on 66.7 percent of his 101 pitches against the Reds, according to FanGraphs. That’s a season-high fastball percentage for Teheran, whose increased his use of fastballs at the same time he threw fewer sliders (season-low 20.8 percent).
Teheran held the Reds scoreless over six innings with just three singles. He retired 12 of 15 batters at one point and struck out five consecutive batters spanning the fourth and fifth innings.
Teheran decided to rely on his fastballs more after he’d thrown them less frequently in three of his four starts this season. As a result, he said he’d become too predictable by falling behind in counts using his secondary pitches.
Teheran was 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in his previous three starts before dominating the Reds on Sunday.
“He really pitched off of his fastball,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “All of those pitchers do that unless you are just a knuckleballer. Even Jamie Moyer, I remember him throwing 87, 88 (mph) but he threw his fastball, commanded his fastball.
“That was more like what we have seen before (from Teheran). He threw his fastball and I was really happy to see 93 (mph). I think I even saw 94 one time. It was a nice outing.”
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