Morning Chop: Braves 8/2
Aug 1, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher
Julio Teheran(49) throws a pitch against the Colorado Rockies in the second inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Teheran comes of age in Braves’ win
ATLANTA — The maturation of rookie pitcher Julio Teheran continued on Thursday.
The right-hander matched his career best with 11 strikeouts and added two hits as the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 11-2 to complete a four-game sweep and extend their winning streak to seven games.
"I was trying to make my pitch,” Teheran said. “I was using my four-seamer. It felt good coming out of my hand."
Teheran (8-5) struck out the side three times and escaped from two bases-loaded situations with only one run scoring. The right-hander gave up five hits and one run over five innings and left after throwing 103 pitches.
A Few Quotes After Last Night’s 7th Straight!
"Julio wasn’t as sharp as we’ve seen before, but boy, he battled. I thought the first inning after he gives up a couple infield singles, bases loaded, you see the miles per hour really really elevate. I think it was 93-94 against Todd Helton and then the next guy. He really did a nice job."
Julio Teheran
"I was mixing really good. I didn’t use my two-seamer like I did earlier in the season, so today I was trying to make my pitch and use my four-seam, and that was coming out good from my hand tonight."
"You know it’s his first start and I haven’t seen him, he hasn’t seen me. You go out and hopefully the adrenaline makes him make a mistake, and then the next two at-bats once he settled in, he got me. So you kind of try to look for a pitch in the middle of the plate and something you can handle."
"I really felt like no matter how many runs they scored, we were going to outscore them. Everybody looked good at the plate, everybody seems comfortable — Justin’s hitting the ball well, Freddie is doing what he’s been doing the whole year, Jason’s crushing the ball, McCann’s doing the same thing. Everybody’s pretty much doing well at the plate. It’s fun to see."
Justin Upton leads Braves to 7th straight win
The class of the NL East is seemingly extending its lead on a daily basis.
Justin Upton blasted two home runs and Julio Teheran sparkled on the mound to lead the Atlanta Braves to a big-time, 11-2 win over the Colorado Rockies. The win completed a sweep of the Rockies for Atlanta, but more impressively, the Braves have just completed a flawless homestand with 7 consecutive victories.
For Upton, his barrage of blasts could potentially signify a turnaround in his fortunes at the plate. After a torrid start to the year, he’s been mired in a months-long slump, but after his 2-HR, 5-RBI performance, it is certainly possible that he has fixed whatever ailed him.
Maholm aims to throw weekend bullpen
Left-hander Paul Maholm played some catch for the fifth time in six days Wednesday with the hope that he can throw off the mound in a light bullpen session sometime this weekend.
He’s eligible to come off the DL Monday and the earliest he would return to the mound is when his rotation spot comes up again Aug. 10 against Miami. But even then, he would have been off for 20 days.