DENVER – A day after Julio Teheran left his start against the Rockies with back tightness, the Braves ace did his usual day-after-start workout, said he felt good, and tested well when a team trainer check his shoulder strength.
While the Braves haven’t made a decision on whether Teheran will go on the disabled list, as of Saturday afternoon they were hopeful that the All-Star pitcher could avoid the DL and make his next start, though perhaps with an extra day or two of rest.
The tightness was in the latissimus dorsi muscles behind and below his right shoulder.
“We’ve got that day off (Monday) so if we need to push him back a day or two we can,” said Braves interim manager Brian Snitker. “And just kind of play it by ear, I think, as we go. We’re going to know something more about it every day as we go. It was real encouraging what we saw today though.”
After completing a four-game series against the Rockies on Sunday, the Braves are off Monday before a two-game series at Minnesota to end their three-city trip. They could easily adjust the rotation to give Teheran an extra day or two of rest before his next start.
Teheran, who left Friday’s start after facing one batter in the fifth inning, said Saturday that he thought he’d be able to avoid the DL. He did his usual day-after running Saturday and didn’t know yet if he’d be able to play catch Sunday, which is the extent of his throwing in a normal second day after a start.
“We’re going to take it day by day,” he said. “Today when I came in we did the strength tests and it was better than last night. That’s good to know, and hopefully it’s better tomorrow. We’ll see how it is tomorrow when I come in, we’ll see what they want me to do.”
Snitker said, “That’s what I was told, that he tested better (today) than he did last night when he left. Kind of just monitor it day by day. I saw him after he ran and he said he felt pretty good. So, hopefully like we said last night, that it was a good thing that he didn’t try and push on.
“Hopefully he’ll just keep going and everything will be good.”
Asked if he was optimistic that Teheran could make his next start, Snitker said, “Why don’t we just kind of wait and see. I’m optimistic, yes, hoping that he can. But, like I said, with the off day on Monday, we might be able to give him an extra day or two.”
Snitker said he was a little surprised that Teheran said he basically had only normal day-after-pitching soreness Saturday, or slightly more. Teheran, too, said he thought when he left the ballpark Friday night that he might have increased soreness overnight and Saturday.
““Last night I was a little worried because I was expecting to be sore,” he said. “But it was nothing out of (the ordinary). A little bit more (discomfort) but nothing crazy, like I couldn’t sleep or lift my arm, nothing like that. Feeling fine today.”
Teheran gave up three hits and two walks in four scoreless innings Friday, left with the Braves ahead 1-0, and got no decision in the 4-3 loss. This after pitching seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball against the Rockies in his previous start Saturday in Atlanta and getting no decision in that 1-0 Braves win.
He has a 2.16 ERA in his past 17 starts, though only a 3-6 record in that span as the Braves scored two or fewer runs while he was in 11 of those games.
That he’s pitched so well, especially lately, made it even harder to think about possibly going on the DL, something he wants to avoid if at all possible.
“When everything’s going good that’s the last thing you want is to go on the DL,” he said. “Just going to keep working and hopefully it gets better and I don’t have to go on the DL. Because that would be hard.”
