Atlanta Braves lose game, maybe Teheran
While the injury did not appear to be serious, Julio Teheran was pulled from the game against Colorado last night… and then the differences between he and the rest of the staff became more clear.
In the end, it came down to hitting: the Colorado Rockies did, and the Atlanta Braves did not… at least not enough.
Julio Teheran was credited with four innings of pitching last night, giving up 3 hits, 2 uncharacteristic walks, and striking out three. Thanks to his magnificent pick-off prowess, he did not yield a run.
That was also the case in his prior start – also against the Rockies: 7 innings, 3 hits, 1 walk, 5 punchouts… a total of 11 innings of shutout baseball against this offense, while lowering his overall ERA to 2.71 and continuing to defy critics with a FIP that’s 1.04 higher.
Unfortunately, it was that third and final hit… really a squib toward the third base side of the mound… that ended his night and caused the concern.
Teheran bounded after it, but the ball eluded him. Erick Aybar insisted on calling the trainer out for a look-see. After a consultation, Teheran executed a warm-up pitch but ultimately opted to leave the game.
The diagnosis was a ‘tight Lat’ – the Latissimus Dorsi muscle in his back. Apparently this cropped up earlier in the game, but he chose to pitch through it – perhaps leading to the walks in the 4th inning.
No details on that diagnosis yet or whether a DL stint will be necessary, though the pitcher himself seemed to downplay the injury:
Teheran "didnt get any worse. I know as far as I can go w/the soreness. I decided to come out before it becomes something serious" #Braves
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) July 23, 2016
108. 3. 17. Final. 4
After that…
The Rockies got a pair of 2-run homers in the sixth off of Joel De La Cruz and Dario Alvarez to take a 4-1 lead. Alvarez, Ian Krol, and Chris Withrow managed to keep things there for the rest of the game to give the offense a chance.
The Braves got close with a monstrous homer (nearly 440 feet) by Jace Peterson in the 8th, plating 2 runs. It was 4-3.
In the 9th inning, the chance was available... Adonis Garcia started off with a double. Two walks sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt from Anthony Recker set up a bases-loaded one out scenario, but neither Chase d’Arnaud nor Jace could get the ball out of the infield to push even that tying run across.
The Braves fell by that 4-3 count.
While the elites of the league fawn over Chris Sale, we’ll have to sit tight (no pun intended) and see how Teheran’s back responds to treatment.