Julio Teheran has spent the better part of two months pitching like he was the young ace of a pretty good Braves starting staff. Tuesday night was just another exclamation point.
Teheran rebounded from an anomaly of an outing in San Francisco, when he struggled to get a grip on the ball in dry conditions, to shut out the Brewers in a 5-0 win.
“He’s proven himself to be the ace of the team,” said Andrelton Simmons, who gave him an early lead with a solo home run. “He had a bad outing a couple days ago. It’s the best way you can bounce back right there: shutout.”
Teheran pitched his second shutout of the year, and his career, only 10 starts into his second full season. On April 16, the 23-year-old outdueled Cliff Lee and the Phillies 1-0. This time it was Yovani Gallardo, who was out of the game with an injury after allowing four runs in only 3 1/3 innings.
Teheran, who was at 109 pitches to start the ninth, gave up singles to two of the first three batters he faced, but struck out the next two batters to end the game on his 128th pitch.
“I know he had one earlier this season but the good ones, and the horses, are able to go out there (repeatedly),” catcher Gerald Laird said. “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.”
Teheran was facing the last hitter manager Fredi Gonzalez was going to let him pitch to when he got Carlos Gomez to swing and miss on his fifth straight fastball. Teheran, who was still hitting 92 mph to Gomez in the ninth, allowed only six hits total, walked two, hit a batter and struck out eight.
Teheran got some rare run support to even his record to 3-3, when he’s deserved much better: his ERA is down to 1.92. Tuesday was the eighth time in 10 starts Teheran has held an opponent to two earned runs or fewer.
Tuesday night’s outing proved eventful for other reasons. Catcher Evan Gattis got sick to his stomach while warming Teheran up in the bullpen just 10 or 15 minutes before the game started, and Laird found out he was catching just three or four minutes before the national anthem.
Then with Teheran cruising into the seventh inning, both Teheran and Gomez were brought to a standstill, both visibly shaken, after Gomez fouled a ball into the stands which struck a small child in the head. The Braves announced the young boy was awake and talkative when he was treated on site. He was then taken to a local hospital.
The Braves have won three in a row, with Justin Upton hitting a homer in each of them. His fifth inning shot Tuesday night was his second in the past two games to the opposite field. Upton now has 12 home runs on the season and also supplied a key two-run single with the bases loaded in the third.
That Upton single helped the Braves take a 3-0 lead for the second straight night against a tough Brewers starter. This time they watched Gallardo exit with an ankle injury with one out in the fourth inning.
That old baseball adage about putting the ball in play because a lot can happen? Teheran was at the plate with runners second and third and the infield in with one out in the fourth inning. He chopped a ball back over the mound, which Gallardo leaped for and turned his left ankle on when he landed awkwardly.
Teheran plated a run in the process after second baseman Scooter Gennett and shortstop Jean Segura nearly collided trying to field the ball. Gallardo left having given up four runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Simmons set up that rally with an acrobatic head-first slide into second base, taking the extra base after he’d singled off the second base bag. Simmons took a cue from Jason Heyward who used a headfirst slide to score Tuesday in San Francisco on a play when catcher Buster Posey could have easily tagged him out.
Simmons was initially ruled out on the play but the call was overturned, making Gonzalez and the Braves 6-for-7 in video replay challenges this season.
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