Julio Teheran Solid In Start But Atlanta Braves Offense Silenced In 5-1 Loss

Atlanta Braves Came Within 1 With Late Rally In The 7th But Jose Ramirez Allowed 4 Runs In 9th To Blow Game Open

The Atlanta Braves celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month on Sunday with Los Bravos Day but just couldn’t find consistent offense during their 5-1 loss.

Most of their hits came after 2 outs and they didn’t get their lone run until the 7th. Julio Teheran got into trouble early on in the 1st inning, giving up 2 runs but eventually got it together and pitched well. It was the only runs he allowed, but Atlanta couldn’t get any offense to back him up.

The trouble started for Teheran with a lead-off walk to Nori Aoki in the 1st. Teheran actually got Aoki to a 0-2 count but eventually walked him on 7 total pitches.

Next, Jose Reyes sent one to deep right for a triple, scoring the Mets’ 1st run. After that was another walk to Brandon Nimmo and eventually Dominic Smith, loading the bases. With 1 out, Amed Rosario hit a fielder’s choice that scored Reyes.  Juan Lagares soon lined out to end the inning and keeping the damage low for the Braves.

The Braves did get their 1st hit out of the way early when Freddie Freeman knocked one to right for a stand-up double. However with 2 outs already, Nick Markakis grounded out and stranded the runner.

The 3rd and final hit the Mets got off Teheran came immediately in the next inning to Aoki. On a 83 mph slider, Aoki knocked it to left where it went over Jace Peterson, who misjudged it for a triple.

Though it initially looked like Teheran was slipping back to his early struggles at Sun Trust Park, he contained but his own shortcomings and those of his defense, going 6 innings with 7 strikeouts and ONLY 3 hits.

Some Good Defense

The Braves had some nice defensive plays in back-to-back innings, each one ending the inning starting in the 5th.

In the 5th, Kevin Plawecki hit one to ‘no man’s land’ between the CF/RF/2B triangle for what seemed like a for-sure single, however, on a diving effort, Inciarte netted it to end the inning.

During the 6th, Teheran made a lighting-quick reaction to nab a lined ball heading towards his face. Then, in the 7th inning, Ozzie Albies joined the party with a self-inducing double play off of a grounder by Aoki.

The Braves Start A Short-Lived Rally

Up to this point, Robert Gsellman, the Mets’ starter, had been cruising, giving up only 3 hits while striking out 3.

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However, it was his own defense that let him down in the 7th, where Atlanta took advantage for a run.

Shortstop Amed Rosario committed back-to-back errors giving gifts to Johan Camargo and Dansby Swanson. With Camargo positioned at 3rd, Peterson hit a sacrifice ground-out to 2nd for a run.

A.J. Minter came out for the 8th and pitched nasty, getting 2 strikeouts to end the inning. Minter came out again in the 9th, facing only Dominic Smith but he too struck out. Jose Ramirez took over and that was a very bad decision.

First, Rosario reached on an infield single and proceeded to steal 2nd. Ramirez then struck out Lagares but followed up with a double to Phillip Evans. That scored another run for New York.

Shortly after, Asdrúbal Cabrera carried one to center for a 2-run homer.

This did more than seal the deal for the game. In the bottom of the inning, Camargo kept fighting with a 1-out single to right. Pinch-hitting Matt Adams got a walk but with 2 outs, Kurt Suzuki grounded to the pitcher to end the game.

Post-Game Facts

2 notes after the game: Inciarte had a single in 3rd and is now 10 away from 200 hits for the season with 14 games remaining. The Braves record is 219 hits by Ralph Garr back in 1971.

The other note deals with A.J. Minter. After today’s game, his 10th, Minter happened to have made some history.

A solid performance from Teheran wasted as the Braves couldn’t back him up offensively. If it weren’t for the errors by Rosario, Atlanta probably wouldn’t haven even score that 1 run.

Next: The Braves Found A Bae

Now, the Braves get ready for their series against the Nationals starting on Tuesday. Los Bravos walked away from their recent meeting with the Nats 2-1 and a fair 8-8 record for the season. At the moment, Luiz Gohara is set to take game 1 against Gio Gonzalez.