Julio Teheran will be activated from the disabled list to start Friday against the Nationals, and to say the Braves can use him would be an immense understatement.
The Braves haven’t had a starting pitcher work more than six innings in a month, since Teheran pitched seven innings in a 1-0 win against the Rockies on July 17. To repeat: One month without a starter recording more than 18 outs. Starters pitched fewer than six innings in seven straight starts before Thursday.
With the return of their lone All-Star – Teheran has been out since July 30 with a lat muscle strain in his back – the starting rotation will consist of Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz and rookies Rob Whalen, Tyrell Jenkins and Joel De La Cruz. The rookies had a combined 16 career starts before Whalen’s fourth start Thursday.
Braves interim manager Brian Snitker was asked how it felt to be welcoming back Teheran, whose 121 career starts are more than 2 ½ times the total number of starts made by the rest of the rotation.
“Feels real good,” Snitker said. “I mean, probably our most experienced guy we’ve been running out there is Folty, and he’s got limited, limited major league starts (31 in two seasons). So you talk about a green rotation and guys who’ve been rushed up here – out of necessity, really.
“So it’ll be nice to get him back in the swing of things.”
Teheran was perfect in the first three innings of his five-inning rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Gwinnett, and finished with three hits and two runs allowed in five innings, with five strikeouts and no walk. He threw 51 strikes in 73 pitches, a model of efficiency compared to most Braves starters lately.
“I felt pretty good, threw all my pitches,” Teheran said. “And I threw a bullpen (Wednesday) and felt pretty good. Hopefully tomorrow when I get the ball, just keep throwing the same way I was throwing. I’m ready to go.”
It will be the first time Teheran has pitched as a father, after his wife delivered their first child on Tuesday, a boy named Jordan. Mom and baby came home Thursday and both are doing well, Teheran reported.
Asked whether he’d been able to sleep much since the birth of his son, Teheran smiled and said, “I’m trying. It hasn’t been that bad. I’m just happy that I’ve got my baby. I’ve got another motivation to play.”
Snitker said having a baby, even at midseason, would be beneficial for Teheran in terms of baseball.
“I told him, this is going to make this game so much more fun for you, having a child,” Snitker said. “Your focus — I think it’s good for guys when they have children. (Baseball) isn’t life or death, all of a sudden. You can probably relax and enjoy it more.”
And help a Braves pitching staff that’s been reeling a bit lately. The Braves were 1-6 with a 7.32 ERA in their past seven games before Thursday, after going 6-1 with a 2.63 ERA in their previous seven.
During the month of August, Braves starters had a total of 78 2/3 innings in 15 games prior to Thursday, which worked out to 5 1/3 innings per start. The starters averaged 91 pitches in those games and averaged fewer than 15 pitches per innings in just three August starts.
Is the bullpen showing the wear and tear? Well, consider that in the two-game series against the Twins Tuesday and Wednesday, Braves relievers worked 8 1/3 innings, threw 204 pitches and allowed 11 earned runs in two losses.
Teheran has been thrown off schedule for nearly seven weeks, first by a thigh infection that affected him in a couple of starts and forced him to push back one start just before the All-Star break, then by the lat strain that led to early exits from two starts before the decision was made to put him on on the disabled list.
After posting a 2.46 ERA and .183 opponents’ average in 16 starts through June 25 and averaging nearly 6 2/3 innings in those games, Teheran has a 4.08 ERA and .282 OA in his past five starts while averaging just over 5 2/3 innings including nine total innings over his past two starts.
“It’s been kind of hard,” he said, “but just try to … have the same mindset, go out there and, if I’m healthy, try to do the same thing I was doing (before the injuries). Try to get the rest of the season, try to finish it strong. I missed two weeks, but just try to get out there and do the same thing – compete and pitch.”
