Atlanta Braves Julio Teheran Exits Game With…
By Jeff Schafer
May 14, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Julio Teheran (49) pitches the ball against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Looking to continue a strong start to the 2014 season, Julio Teheran set foot to the mound at AT&T Park on Wednesday afternoon looking to shut out the Giants. Shutting them out was probably the complete opposite of what happened.
Teheran struggled mightily on the hill while in search for his command. You could tell very early in the game that he was leaving a lot of his pitches up in the zone. The first inning finally concluded after a 41-pitch outing.
Teheran lasted onto 3.1 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits and a career-high five walks.
May 14, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Julio Teheran (49) pitches the ball against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The trainers came out to the mound to check on Teheran but he said he was OK to continue. We thought maybe a blister popped up or a cut on a finger. But what it turned out to be could be even worse than those injuries….
“I couldn’t find my grip,” said Teheran after the game. “It was just something that happened that was difficult. Same thing happened last year in the postseason but I tried to get through it because I knew I’m going to be pitching with those feelings a lot.”
So he couldn’t find his grip – what exactly does that mean?? And he gets those feelings a lot?? That’s more concerning.
When asked if there was anything wrong with his hand, Teheran responded with “No, it’s just my grip”.
Everyone is entitled to have an off-day and I’m not worried about Wednesday’s game…that game is behind me, I’m already thinking about the Cardinals…but I’m worried about the issues the 23-year-old is talking about with his grip of the baseball.
Chipper Jones was watching today’s ball game and recognized early that Julio had a potential problem.
From reading a few other tweets, it sounds like dry air could be the cause of this situation. Looking ahead at the schedule a little, in June the Braves travel out west again for a couple series and the Dodgers in late July. I’m sure Teheran will get the ball in most of those series so it will be interesting to take a look at what he’s learned.
“Every time I get into this kind of weather, I have a hard time but I’m still trying to find a way to get through it…I don’t want to leave in the 3rd inning (4th inning Wednesday) again,” Teheran told reporters in the locker room.