Atlanta Braves Julio Teheran throws gem, loses game on defensive miscues

On Tuesday, the Braves played seven excellent innings. Unfortunately, games are nine innings long and those last two were brutal.

Fresh on the heels of drubbing the Giants 9-0, the Atlanta Braves entered play on Tuesday looking to extend their streak of shutout innings.

And for seven innings, they did just that.

Over those first seven frames, Julio Teheran allowed just three hits, all of which were singles and two of which turned into double plays.

He wasn’t racking up many strikeouts (just two all game) but did look like the pitcher Atlanta chose to extend and retain during their rebuilding efforts. It was the sort of outing a manager would take each and every time out.

While Teheran was pitching a gem, a Dansby Swanson single, Johan Camargo triple, and Ender Inciarte sacrifice fly had given the team a 2-0 lead.

…and then the eighth.

Teheran began the top half of the eighth inning by getting Hunter Pence to swing at a ball up around his eyes, grounding it weakly to the left side. Swanson was set to field the ball when Camargo flashed his range by cutting the ball off. Unfortunately, he booted the play and Pence reached safely.

Admittedly, Camargo did have a better angle on the ball. Had it made it all the way to Swanson, Pence likely would’ve beaten the throw.

The following batter, Teheran again induced a ground ball, this time off the bat of Brandon Belt. The ball one-hopped Brandon Phillips who fielded cleanly and fired to second to hopefully turn a double play.

Swanson, covering second, got a glove on the throw but never fully caught it before attempting to transfer to his throwing hand. Pence was initially called out at second but after video review was (rightfully) ruled safe. Swanson was charged with an error.

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Then, with runners on first and second (neither of whom managed to get the ball out of the infield), Giants rookie Austin Slater hit an opposite field, three-run homer to put San Francisco ahead 3-2. While the short right field porch has helped Freddie Freeman, Matt Adams, and Ender Inciarte excel in the power department this season, on Tuesday it came back to bite the Braves. As Bruce Bochy said after the game “the kid bailed us out.”

As Teheran put it when asked about the Slater homerun, “I don’t know how he hit it that way. It’s part of the game. They were attacking that inning, and I was just trying to get out of the jam.”

Next, Kelby Tomlinson added another infield single. He was then sac-bunted to second, stole third, and was driven in by a Denard Span single (4-2 SFG).

Another infield single, two more errors, and one successful double play later, Atlanta finally escaped the inning having allowed five runs.

They would get one back in the bottom of the eighth on a Matt Kemp ground-rule double. San Fran would respond with a solo shot from Belt.

Despite an excellent performance with just one (short left field fence-aided) mistake, Teheran was saddled with the loss.

Game Notes:

*The pitching matchup was something of a very stoppable force vs. a very moveable object. Entering play, Teheran owned a 7.25 ERA in home starts, the worst in the NL. Meanwhile, Matt Moore owned a 9.24 ERA in road starts, the worst in all of baseball. Somewhat surprisingly, both pitched well.

*Johan Camargo has decided that hitting is fun and he’s going to keep doing it. With his 3-for-4 effort including a double and triple, he’s now slashing .354/.367/.500 on the season.

*Errors aren’t the best measure of defensive ability and advanced metrics still grade Swanson as an above-average defender but his eighth inning error was his 12^th of 2017. That’s the highest mark of any NL shortstop (second place is Orlando Arcia of the Brewers with 8). Only Tim Anderson of the White Sox (15) has more E’s than Swanson among all MLB shortstops. While that doesn’t make him a bad defender (defensive demigod Andrelton Simmons has 8 so far), the extra outs he’s allowing are becoming a concern.

Next: The Matt Adams Debate

The series will continue on Wednesday with Jeff Samardzija facing off against Braves rookie Sean Newcomb. First pitch is 7:35 PM EST.