LAKELAND, Fla. – When he pitched five dominant innings for Colombia in a March 11 win against Canada in the World Baseball Classic, Julio Teheran looked pretty much ready for the regular season.
When he worked six strong innings against the Detroit Tigers on Friday, extricating himself from a bases-loaded, no-outs jam along the way, Teheran left no doubt about his preparedness to make his fourth consecutive opening-day start April 3 against the Mets.
“After this outing I feel I’m ready for the season,” said Teheran, charged with five hits, two runs and one walk with five strikeouts in six innings of a 3-2, 10-inning loss at Joker Marchant Stadium. “The WBC was two weeks ago and I made, like, a regular start there. Today I feel normal.
“I had to work some in the fifth, bases loaded. That’s something good, bases loaded and I had to work out of the jam and I think I did pretty good.”
He threw 59 strikes in 88 pitches in his longest start of spring training and retired six of the last seven batters he faced, four via strikeouts. The only batter to reach in that span did so on an error by minor league first baseman Matt Tuiasosopo.
“It was good for him to get in trouble and have to work,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “And he did. Competed really well and stuff was really good.”
Both Tigers runs came in the third inning when Teheran gave up three doubles including two that bounced over the fence. The other was a soft fly to right field that turned into a double when minor leaguer Mel Rojas Jr. tried to make a diving catch.
Rojas made up for that in the fifth when he made a splendid diving catch to end the inning with bases loaded.
The Tigers filled the bases that inning when Teheran hit James McCann with a pitch, walked Alex Presley and surrendered a single to No. 9 hitter Brendan Ryan. Then he struck out leadoff man Jose Iglesias and Tyler Collins consecutively before the Rojas catch.
“That’s the spot you want to be in to see how you make your pitches,” Teheran said of the bases-loaded jam. “I was able to make my pitches when I needed. I think that’s really good. That’s something you want to know before the season starts.”
Teheran had a 2.81 ERA in four Grapefruit League starts with12 strikeouts and four walks in 16 innings. He has a tuneup-type start remaining but will make that in a minor league camp game Wednesday instead of facing the Mets that day in the Braves’ last game in Florida before they head home to Atlanta.
The camp game will allow the Braves to keep Teheran in a controlled situation for his last outing before opening day.
“Last outing of spring training, you don’t want to go too hard,” Teheran said. “Obviously you want to save it for the regular season. I think it’s going to be fine (pitching in a minor league game Wednesday). Make a couple of pitches, see hitters. That’s what we’re going to do. I don’t think it’s going to affect me at all.”
NOTES: Snitker said at least a couple of Braves starting pitchers would stay in Florida or return to the state to pitch in minor league games before their first starts of the regular season, since the team will play just two games – a March 31 exhibition vs. Yankees at SunTrust Park and April 3 opening day vs. Mets – between its Wednesday Grapefruit League finale with the Mets and the second regular-season game April 5….
The Braves got a scoreless inning apiece Friday from Ian Krol, Jose Ramirez and Eric O’Flaherty — three relievers expected to be in the opening-day bullpen — before minor leaguer David Peterson pitched the 10th inning and gave up two hits and the winning run.
