What had been a frustrating afternoon for Freddie Freeman turned into something entirely different in the 10th inning Sunday, when he lined a two-out single to center field to give the Braves a 1-0 walk-off win against the Reds and a series sweep at Turner Field.
“I like those opportunities,” said Freeman, who was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts before his big hit gave the Braves their 12th win in 15 games and third win in five 1-0 games this season.
The stage was set for him after Jason Heyward singled up the middle with two out, and B.J. Upton hit a comebacker that became a single when pitcher J.J. Hoover reached up and had the ball skip off his glove.
The Reds brought in left-hander Manny Parra to face Freeman, who lined a 1-0 fastball to the warning track. Teammates raced from the dugout to mob the big first baseman before he got to second base.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said there was nobody in the ballpark he’d have felt as good about having in that situation than Freeman, who last season was second in the majors with a .443 average with runners in scoring position, including .411 with two outs.
“Being in the middle of the lineup, you like the RBI opportunities — and definitely at the end of the game,” Freeman said. “And I saw that weather coming and wanted to get out of here.”
A thunderstorm began about 10 minutes after the last pitch, after a week’s worth of near-perfect weather for the Braves’ 5-1 homestand. They will enjoy a day off Monday in Miami before starting a three-game series Tuesday against the Marlins.
Until the 10th inning, pitching was the order of the day as a highly anticipated duel between starters Julio Teheran and Jonny Cueto lived up the billing.
Teheran and Cueto each limited the opposition to three hits in eight scoreless innings, with Cueto ringing up 11 strikeouts and trimming his ERA to 1.15. It was the fourth time in six starts that Cueto allowed two runs or fewer in seven or more innings and came away with either no decision or a loss.
Teheran had five strikeouts and two walks and lowered his ERA to 1.47, including 0.38 over his past three starts.
“I was locked in, trying to do my job,” Teheran said. “I knew the first team that scored was the one that was going to win.”
Rookie left-hander Ian Thomas (1-0) earned his first major league decision by coaxing a foul pop-up by pinch-hitter Roger Bernadina with two on and two out in the 10th inning, after David Carpenter had allowed a pair of singles.
Gonzalez said he and pitching coach Roger McDowell had discussed earlier Sunday using Thomas under pressure to gauge whether he was ready to be a second reliable lefty — along with Luis Avilan — in tense situations.
“I want them to trust me — I want them to know they can call down and I’ll be ready to go,” said Thomas, pitching for the first time in a week.
Teheran has surrendered just one run and 11 hits in 24 innings in his past three starts, with only one decision to show for it. That was a 1-0 win against Cliff Lee in Philadelphia, when he threw the only regular-season shutout by a visiting pitcher since Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004.
“He has hooked up against some big-game pitchers, established major league aces, and gone pitch-for-pitch with them,” Gonzalez said.
“Any time he knows he’s going up against a good pitcher, he steps up his game,” said shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who loves playing behind his good friend Teheran, who made it 22 times in 24 games this season that a Braves starter allowed two earned runs or fewer.
“I know how good he can be,” Simmons said. “He’s proving to people that he deserves to be the ace for the team.”
Teheran was asked whether he felt like he had arrived as an elite pitcher in his own right. He didn’t hesitate with his reply.
“Now I feel like one of those guys,” he said.
After Ryan Ludwick’s leadoff double in the fifth inning, Teheran retired the next 10 batters and 12 of the last 13 he faced, allowing only an eighth-inning walk. Ludwick advanced to second base on a fly out, and Teheran struck out the next two batters to end the fifth inning.
The other hits allowed by Teheran were an infield single by rookie speedster Billy Hamilton in the third inning and a second-inning double that bounced off center fielder B.J. Upton’s glove after he lost the ball in the sun.
Upton wore sunglasses in similar conditions in the past, but began wearing prescription glasses this weekend and had not received a pair of prescription sunglasses that are on order. So he was wearing his regular, non-tinted glasses in the field.
After Pena’s double, Teheran struck out Zack Cozart to end the inning. And after Cozart drew a one-out walk in the eighth and advanced on Cueto’s sacrifice, Hamilton flied out to strand the runner.
Those were the only three runners to advance past first base against Teheran, who got an assist from Gerald Laird in the third inning when the veteran catcher gunned down Hamilton trying to steal second after the infield hit.
The Braves had scoring opportunities in the first, fifth and sixth innings against Cueto, who began the day with a majors-leading .140 opponents’ average, and was coming off consecutive three-hit complete-game wins against Pittsburgh.
In the first inning, B.J. Upton drew a one-out walk and Justin Upton singled with two out before Chris Johnson popped out. In the fifth, Simmons hit a one-out double that bounced over the right-center fence. Laird walked and Teheran laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners. But with two in scoring position, Heyward struck out to end the inning.
In the sixth, Justin Upton hit a two-out double and Johnson walked before Dan Uggla struck out looking, his third consecutive strikeout in the game. Uggla was 1-for-16 with 10 strikeouts in his past five games before singling with two out in the ninth inning.
Reds manager Bryan Price was ejected after challenging the safe call on a pickoff play when B.J. Upton dove back to first base with Freeman batting. The replay shown on the stadium video board appeared to show Upton was out, but the call was confirmed after review, at which point Price stepped back on the field and pointed to the scoreboard video screen as if to question whether the umpire saw the same review that he did.
Arguing a reviewed call is grounds for ejection, and Price was tossed immediately after gesturing toward the board. Reds pitcher Homer Bailey, the loser in Friday’s series opener, was also ejected for arguing the replay call from the dugout.
