Julio Teheran joined some select Braves company when he pitched nine scoreless in a 5-0 victory at Turner Field against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night, good for his second shutout of the season.
Teheran became the first Braves pitchers with multiple shutouts in a season since Greg Maddux in 2001. The newly named Hall of Famer pitched shutouts against the Brewers (1-0), Pirates (1-0) and Devil Rays (4-0) that year at age 35.
Teheran is 23 and in only his second full season in the majors. He just became the first Braves starter under the age of 25 with multiple shutouts in a season since Steve Avery pitched two in 1992 at age 22, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Teheran also out-dueled Cliff Lee and the Phillies in a 1-0 victory at Citizens Bank Park on April 16.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said over the course of the past two years, Teheran has learned what he can do without simply trying to overpower hitters.
“A few years ago when we brought him up as a young kid, he wanted to throw 95 every pitch,” Gonzalez said. “Now he’s got to where he pitches, and the 123rd, 124th pitch of the game he’s got 92 still in the tank. That’s nice to see. And he doesn’t have to pitch at 95 all day long. He’s learning how to pitch. He’s learning how to maneuver himself (through a lineup) and pitch.”
Teheran now mixes in a two-seam fastball that’s in the 89-90 mph range, with that four-seam fastball that he was still firing at 92 mph to the last batter he faced Tuesday night, Carlos Gomez. Not only is he able to get more groundouts with the sinker, and be more economical with his pitches, he still has some steam left.
His veteran batterymate came away impressed by the way Teheran handled pitching through a ninth-inning jam Tuesday night to finish the game off. He gave up singles to two of the first three batters he faced but struck out the next two to end the game.
“He’s still young and sometimes that’s the hardest thing to learn is how to close a game out,” catcher Gerald Laird said after Tuesday’s game. “He gave up that single to lead off the ninth and I was just chirping at him, ‘We’ve got to get it done. Let’s get it done.’ I know he had one earlier this season but the good ones, and the horses, are able to go out there and they smell the blood in the water. He was able to settle down and make pitches and I’m glad he got it done.”
