If Julio Teheran had to come back from a shortened start and erase concerns about his health, he couldn’t have picked a better place to do it than Citi Field, where the Braves pitcher has thrived throughout his career.
He did again Thursday, taking a no-hitter to the seventh inning of an 11-0 win that gave the Braves consecutive shutouts and a three-game sweep of the Mets, completing a 7-3 trip for one of baseball’s most surprising teams.
“As you can see, I felt really good,” Teheran said, smiling after limiting the Mets to two hits and two walks with six strikeouts in seven innings, six days after he lasted just three innings at Philadelphia because of a sort trapezius muscle behind his right shoulder. “The first inning I was thinking about that (trapezius). I didn’t want to feel anything. But I forgot it. I just was concentrated and focused on doing my job.
“I know (Braves starters Sean) Newcomb and (Mike) Soroka did a great job the two nights before. I was really focused on doing my job and helping the team win this game.”
Teheran improved to 6-2 with a 2.14 ERA in 11 starts at Citi Field, where he pitched a one-hit shutout with no walks and seven strikeouts on June 19, 2016.
The Braves staked him to a 3-0 lead in the first inning just as they had in Philadelphia, but this time he was strong and able to protect it while they kept adding more runs. The fastballs that were clocked at just 84-87 mph at Philly were back up to 91-92 mph in New York, and they were located well.
“He was good today, man,” Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki said. “He was just throwing a ball that never was in the middle of the plate, and when he does that he’s tough. He obviously was feeling good, he had a little extra life on his heater. We used some breaking balls to keep them honest, but he was pretty good, just elevating balls, sinking it down, changing levels.”
The Braves amassed 15 hits, including home runs by veterans Suzuki and Nick Markakis and young guns Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies, who hit his 10th to start a three-run fifth inning when the Braves pushed their lead to 6-0.
“It started with Julio, man,” Markakis said. “Julio pitched a great game. He was pounding the zone and keeping guys off-balance. He looked sharp as I’ve ever seen him, and he was one of the main reasons we were able to come in quick and score as many runs as we did.”
Teheran was perfect until a two-out walk by Yoenis Cespedes in the fourth inning and had a no-hitter until Asdrubal Cabrera’s two-out double in the seventh.
He retired 20 of 21 batters before the Mets loaded the bases in the seventh on the Cabrera double, a walk and an infield single. Teheran got Amed Rosario to pop out foul to end the inning and preserve the shutout before turning things over to the bullpen after 96 pitches, including 65 strikes.
“Yeah, it was really good, especially coming off the shortened out the last time,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He was just attacking the strike zone, moving his fastball around. It was good. ... I wondered if he might have been just a little cautious (early Thursday), getting in and getting loose. But he moved it around good, location was good, so it was good to see him kind of finish strong.”
Since giving up 10 hits, nine runs and four homers in eight innings over his first two starts, Teheran has allowed 18 hits, six runs and two homers in 29 innings over his past five starts for a 1.86 ERA in that span. He gave up two or fewer runs in six or more innings in four of those starts, the only exception coming Friday at Philadelphia.
