x
Breaking News
More () »

Julio Teheran pulled early in Atlanta Braves' win, despite chasing no-hitter

In his initial return from the 10-day disabled list, Teheran fleeced the Padres hitters on Sunday, fanning 11, walking three and allowing zero hits.

ATLANTA—Wow, for a ho-hum game totaling five runs in the the middle of June, and against a random West Coast opponent, we certainly have a lot to unpack here.

Let's start with Julio Teheran, the certifiable star of the Atlanta Braves' 4-1 victory at SunTrust Park.

In his initial return from the 10-day disabled list, the Colombian-born right-hander fleeced the Padres hitters on Sunday, fanning 11, walking three and allowing zero hits.

And yet, when the seventh inning rolled around, Teheran was nowhere to be found on the mound (forgive the rhyming scheme).

Two possible reasons:

a) After the game, Braves skipper Brian Snitker revealed Teheran had been dealing with a lower-leg cramp since the early innings.

b) He might have also pulled his starter after 95 pitches, if it was near the predisposed maximum.

Even though Teheran had thrown 109 and 104 pitches for starts made on May 25 and May 30, respectively.

Now, should Snitker be applauded for adopting a conservative plan and replacing Teheran with reliever Shane Carle, who promptly lost the combined no-hitter in the 7th?

Perhaps.

It's only June, the Braves remain in first place and Teheran was coming off a mild malady (jammed thumb).

However, prior to this superb outing, Teheran had allowed two or fewer hits only eight other times in his Braves career; and among that exclusive tally, the 27-year-old pitcher surrendered one hit over nine innings just once (2016).

So, in that vein, it's fair to wonder if Teheran had missed his greatest opportunity for a no-hitter? Particularly in a Braves uniform ... and in front of the Atlanta fans?

As you may have read once, twice or maybe 50 times on this site, Teheran doesn't exactly have the most sterling track record pitching inside the Braves' shiny, new ballpark.

Prior to Sunday, his SunTrust Park-only tallies were cumulatively 4-11 overall, a 5.52 ERA and 1.48 WHIP (two seasons).

For me, it's quite simple: You never pass on a chance for greatness. Yes, Atlanta has the bigger team goal of winning the National League East and breaking its playoff drought of five years; but this quirky game remains a wonderful showcase for individual achievement.

Plus, can you imagine the headline hook of Teheran tossing a no-hitter on Father's Day?

At the very least, it would have been great to see Teheran attempt to stretch the no-no bid for one more inning.

Moving on ... did you see the potentially nasty injury to Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki?

In the second inning, Padres backstop Raffy Lopez had an elongated swing on a strikeout against Teheran; and during the follow-through, the bat reached Suzuki's head at a point when he momentarily ducked, leaving him vulnerable.

Suzuki was down on the ground for a while, writhing in pain, before exiting for the day.

But here's where things got interesting: Upon the unintentional hit on Suzuki, Lopez seemingly didn't have much sympathy for his fellow catching counterpart.

This indifference apparently angered Braves coach Ron Washington, who confronted Lopez in the next half-inning about the incident.

Fortunately, the argument never led to anything substantive, like a bench-clearing brouhaha.

Lopez's backswing gaffe actually contributed to the Padres' Sunday demise. Suzuki's replacement, Tyler Flowers, collected two hits and crushed a game-clinching two-run homer in the 8th.

With the insurance runs, Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino was under less pressure to be perfect in the 9th, upon allowing consecutive singles to Cory Spangenberg and Freddy Galvis right off the bat.

From there, Vizcaino struck out Christian Villanueva and Raffy Lopez ... setting the stage for Nick Markakis' diving catch to secure the 4-1 triumph.

In victory, the National League East-leading Braves (42-29) sit 3 1/2 games ahead of the slumping Nationals—a season-best spread.

The last time Atlanta enjoyed a division lead this large? Try April 27, 2014.

Before You Leave, Check This Out