LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Julio Teheran has one more spring-training tuneup game before making his third consecutive opening-day start, but from the looks of things Friday, he doesn’t need it.
The Braves right-hander appears ready, and he feels that way.
“My last two games I’ve been in the form that I want to be, like regular-season form right now,” said Teheran, who allowed four hits and no walks with five strikeouts in six innings against the Astros at Champion Stadium in Grapefruit League game that ended in a 1-1 tie after 6 ½ innings.
“Everything’s working. I’m good right now,” he said. “Even the first time I got to work with (catcher Tyler) Flowers behind the plate, he was great and we were on the same page and it was fun.”
The Astros scored the tying run in the seventh against Braves closer Jason Grilli, who gave up a leadoff walk to Colby Rasmus. One out and one stolen base later, Jason Castro’s single scored Rasmus before Grilli struck out Matt Duffy and Jon Singleton to end the inning just as torrential rains began.
For Teheran, the only runs he’s allowed in 14 1/3 innings over his past three starts came in a three-run fourth inning Saturday against the Yankees, an inning that featured two shaky defensive plays. Otherwise, he might have gotten through those three starts with one or no runs allowed. He has just one walk in three starts.
“That’s something that I’ve been working on, command and throwing strikes,” said Teheran, who has a 2.60 ERA in four spring starts. “That’s been different this spring, getting ahead in counts and throwing a strike.”
The Astros’ four hits off Teheran included three doubles, but they never advanced a runner to third base against the right-hander. Teheran picked off Matt Duffy at second base after a two-out double in the second inning and got Jose Altuve to fly out after a two-out double in the third.
After Danny Worth’s leadoff double in the sixth, Altuve lined out and Jake Marisnick hit into an unassisted double play on a soft liner to second baseman Kelly Johnson.
Marisnick led off the fourth inning with a single and was stranded at first when Teheran struck out Rasmus and Carlos Gomez before Castro lined out to center.
“They’re pretty good hitters and got a couple of doubles,” Teheran said. “Just focus on getting the next guy out, working from the stretch. That’s important, too, getting to battle a little bit (in spring training).”
None of the fourth left-handed hitters in the Astros lineup had a hit against Teheran — significant because he struggled mightily against lefties in 2015 and came to spring training determined to improve in that area.
“A little more comfortable against left-handed hitters,” he said. “You could see the most outs I had today were against left-handers, and the base hits were to righties. That’s OK. I feel great.”
