There is an old adage in baseball that giving up bases-empty home runs won’t doom a pitcher. But as evident for the second consecutive night Saturday, that doesn’t apply to the Braves in their current state.
Julio Teheran gave up only four hits in six innings, but three were solo homers that powered the Giants to a 3-1 win at Turner Field, extending the Braves’ losing streak to five games, their longest skid since 2012.
Teheran (2-2) had not allowed more than two homers in 40 career starts before Saturday, when he gave up more than two earned runs for the first time in six starts this season.
“I made three mistakes that cost me three runs,” Teheran said. “Couple of mistakes can cost you the game.”
They sure can when your team is playing like the Braves have lately. They’ve hit .194 and scored 10 runs in the past six games, including a 1-0, 10-inning win against the Reds before being swept by the Marlins. On Friday, the Braves’ Mike Minor gave up two solo homers in his season debut and the Braves lost 2-1.
“We’ve just got to get our offense going,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzlez said. “Our offense has got to help us out a little bit. Guys are going out there, getting a couple of guys on base, then we hit into a double play. What did we hit into, three (double plays) today? We hit into two, and then the strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out.”
The five-game skid is the Braves’ longest since losing eight in a row in May 2012. They need to win Sunday afternoon to avoid being swept for the second consecutive series and the first time at home.
Braves starting pitchers, after allowing seven homers and 28 earned runs in 160 2/3 innings in the first 24 games, have allowed nine homers and 24 earned runs in the past five games. All three homers off Teheran led off innings – Brandon Belt in the second inning, Leesburg native Buster Posey in the fourth, and Michael Morse on the first pitch of the seventh.
Morse also homered off Minor on Friday, and the former Nationals slugger has eight home runs this season.
Teheran gave had no walks and seven strikeouts in his first loss since opening day at Milwaukee, when he allowed both runs in a 2-0 defeat. He has a .500 record despite a 1.80 ERA.
The young right-hander is 1-1 with a 1.20 ERA in his past four starts, including no decision when he pitched eight scoreless innings of three-hit ball in the 10-inning win against the Reds. The Braves have scored one or no runs while he was in the game in four of Teheran’s six starts.
“Same story as last night,” said third baseman Chris Johnson, who said there is growing frustration among the hitters. “When you lose it’s probably because you’re not coming up with those big hits when guys are in scoring position, and that’s why we’re losing ballgames. We had a lot of chances. Two hits – we get guys first and second, bases loaded, we get two hits and we beat them. We beat them by a couple of runs. But we’re not doing that right now, and that’s why we’re losing.
“It’s the offense’s fault mostly.”
Ryan Vogelsong (1-1) entered with a 5.40 ERA and limited the Braves to one run on five hits and four walks in six innings.
The Braves have been held to two runs or fewer 12 times. They have a 4-8 record in those games, and they’re 3-9 when they don’t hit at least one homer, compared to 14-3 when they do.
“It’s a talented group of guys, the same guys that in April scored some runs,” said Gonzalez, who was asked if that made the offensive struggles all the more frustrating. “Yeah, it does. Because we’re such a talented group, and it seems like we get a guy on an inning, we just can’t get them to home plate.”
The Braves’ skid started against a couple of hard-throwing Marlins pitchers, Jose Fernandez and Nathan Eovaldi, and has continued unabated.
“Sometimes you’re going to go out and get beat by good pitching,” said left fielder Justin Upton, who struck out twice with two runners on base and also grounded into a double play. “We’ve done that as of late. We have to find a way to scratch across more runs than we’re scratching across right now.”
They were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position Saturday to make them 5-for-35 during the skid. Before Saturday, the Braves were 27th in the majors with a .212 average with runners in scoring position, and 29th with a .133 average in 98 at-bats with runners in scoring position and two outs.
They had a chance to at least tie the score in the second inning after putting runners on first and second with none out. But Johnson grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. With a runner at third and two out, Dan Uggla walked and Vogelsong pitched around Simmons on four-pitch walk to load bases for Teheran, whose comebacker ended the inning.
In the third inning, Jason Heyward walked, stole second, then scored the tying run on B.J. Upton’s lined double to left field. Freeman followed with a single and the Braves had runners on the corners with none out before Justin Upton struck out. Evan Gattis then struck out on full-count pitch above the strike zone and Freeman, running on the pitch, was caught stealing for an inning-ending double play.
“That 3-2 pitch,” Gonzalez said. “There I’m thinking just put the ball in play, I’m not thinking we’re going to double steal or do anything crazy. Just put the ball in play, give us another run. He swings at ball four. We had a couple of guys today swing at pitches way out of the strike zone. That’s something that we need to talk about.
“I don’t know if it’s pressing; I know everybody wants to do well. But usually when teams go in slumps or individuals slump, usually the first thing you look at is swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. And just thinking about three or four occasions today, we did that.
“We’ll look at it. I’m sure Walk (hitting coach Greg Walker) is as frustrated as we are.”
Heyward hit a one-out double in the fifth inning and B.J. Upton followed with a walk. Freeman broke his bat on a fly out to right field and Justin Upton struck out to end the inning.
“We’re giving ourselves plenty of opportunities to drive in runs; we just haven’t done it,” said Justin Upton, who grounded into a double play after Freeman’s leadoff walk in the eighth. “We haven’t come up with that big hit. That can doom you sometimes, because when you’re facing good pitching, you get those runners out there, those are times that you have to score. You don’t know when you’re going to get more guys out there.”
