PHILADELPHIA -- Saturday night spelled the end of the Braves’ six-game winning streak with a 3-0 loss to the Phillies, but offered a glimpse into a pretty special future.
Julio Teheran became the youngest Brave to debut as a starter since Steve Avery in 1990, and the historical note was fitting. Rated the top pitching prospect in baseball by Baseball America, Teheran is one of the highest-rated prospects to come through the pitching-rich Braves organization in years.
Teheran made a spot start Saturday at Citizens Bank Park, and it was safe to say he could still benefit from more seasoning at Triple-A Gwinnett. But he held his own against a good Phillies lineup, allowing three runs in 4 2/3 innings, which is a lot more than Avery could say after he gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings to the Reds in his debut at age 20.
“It was the best moment of my life, being here in the big leagues,” said Teheran, with bullpen coach Eddie Perez interpreting.
The Braves could get him no run support against old nemesis Kyle Kendrick in their third shutout loss of the season, as the Phillies evened the series 1-1.
But the Braves came away knowing Teheran could handle himself against a tough lineup.
“I think it’s a great experience for him,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “You didn’t see the deer-in-the-headlight look out there. He got behind some hitters, and when you do that at the major league level you’re going to get paid. Overall I thought his performance was nice to see.”
Teheran got his welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment courtesy of Ryan Howard, who took a 2-0 Teheran fastball 415 feet to center field for a solo home run and a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Teheran’s night ended on the one other hard-hit ball off him, which became Shane Victorino’s triple with two outs in the fifth.
Teheran struck out one batter and walked two. He threw primarily fastballs and change-ups, with his fastball consistently right around 93-94 mph, with an occasional curveball mixed in.
“If he needed to come up right now, he’d be successful,” catcher Brian McCann said.
The slender Colombian still is trying to harness some of that mid-90s potential and struggled to find the major league strike zone early. He threw only nine of his first 18 pitches for strikes in the first inning.
Then a leadoff walk cost Teheran a run in the second inning after former Brave Pete Orr beat out a potential double-play to drive in Ben Francisco from third.
That Phillies’ run snapped a streak of 30 1/3 innings by Braves pitchers without allowing an earned run. The Brewers scored the previous earned run off a Braves pitcher, in Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader in the eighth inning off reliever Scott Linebrink.
The Braves have beat Cliff Lee twice this year, but still can’t touch Kendrick.
Normally it might seem like a break for a team to learn that that Roy Oswalt was out with lower back pain and that Kendrick would start in his place, but not for the Braves.
Kendrick pitched five shutout innings in his first start since Oct. 1 – also against the Braves. He moved to 6-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 12 games (10 starts) against the Braves.
Teheran, meanwhile, has made only a dozen starts above Single-A, including five to start the season in Triple-A Gwinnett where he was 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA.
He made his entrance to the majors by taking a little dirt from the third-base line, crossing himself with it, giving his prized right arm a couple of winds and going to work with his warm-up pitches.
He maintained a calm demeanor throughout his 4 2/3 innings, providing the only real hint of any nerves with his lack of early command. He threw first-pitch balls to three of the first four batters he faced, including Jimmy Rollins who led off the game with a single.
“I really think he’s going to be a better pitcher for it,” Gonzalez said. “And we better learn how to pronounce his name because we’ll see him soon. And when he does come, he’ll stay up here a long time.”
