On an afternoon when Julio Teheran tried to get by without his usual stuff, the rookie pitcher got knocked around by an old Braves nemesis and a new one.
Jay Bruce homered in a four-run third inning and Shin-Soo Choo homered in the fifth, powering the Cincinnati Reds to an 8-4 win against the Braves at Turner Field in the final game before the All-Star break.
The Reds split the four-game series and the injury-plagued Braves lost a game on their National League East lead, which still is the largest in the majors at the All-Star break. Atlanta (54-41) is six games ahead of second-place Washington.
“I wasn’t at my best,” said Teheran (7-5), who gave up seven hits, five runs and two walks in 5-1/3 innings. “I was just trying to compete out there.”
The Braves were again forced to use a lineup that resembled a split-squad game in spring training, playing without their entire starting outfield and All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman, who injured a thumb Saturday and won’t play in the All-Star game Tuesday.
“We lost a lot of key players, but guys that stepped in did a terrific job for us,” said manager Fredi Gonzalez, whose Braves got 20 hits and nine runs from their backup-sprinkled lineups the past two days. “And you felt good that we had a chance. Even today, we hit the ball hard.”
Gerald Laird gave the Braves a 1-0 lead with a two-out double in the second inning, and walks by Joe Terdoslavich and Teheran loaded the bases before Jose Constanza lined out to pitcher Tony Cingrani (4-1).
“Constanza hits a rocket back to the pitcher,” Gonzalez said. “I thought (Evan) Gattis hit a couple of balls hard after coming off the DL. You feel good anytime your back’s up against it like ours was, and the guys respond.”
Teheran put the Braves in a hole early, and between solo homers by the Braves’ Dan Uggla in the eighth inning and Andrelton Simmons in the ninth, the Reds tacked on three runs against reliever Anthony Varvaro.
“I’d like to get some more hits other than homers, but at least the few hits I have been getting have been traveling out of the ballpark,” said Uggla, who got his average to an even .200 and homered in consecutive games to give him 18, the most home runs by a Brave before the All-Star break since Chipper Jones and Brian McCann each hit 18 in 2008. “It’s a place for me to build from. I’m going to keep working.”
Teheran had been 3-1 with a 1.76 ERA in his previous five starts. But he got a little overheated early Sunday on a humid afternoon, and ran into trouble in the third inning after a leadoff bunt single by Cingrani.
Choo followed with a single, and Joey Votto’s one-out double drove in the tying run. Redan High graduate Brandon Phillips drove in another run with a groundout, and Bruce followed with a two-run homer for a 4-1 lead before Teheran had recorded his ninth out.
Bruce snapped an 18-game homerless drought with his 19th of the season and eighth in 32 career games against the Braves. He had five homers in the first eight games he played against them in 2008-2009.
Choo led off the fifth with a homer that gave him his fourth two-hit game in the series. He has 21 hits and a .429 average in a 12-game hitting streak, and against the Braves this season he’s 11-for-28 (.392) with three home runs in seven games.
The Braves, after going 17-9 in April, 15-13 in May and 16-12 in June, are 6-7 in July and looking forward to the All-Star break to heal. They’ve been the majors’ best home team for most of the first half, but have split their past 14 home games after winning 16 of the previous 19.
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