ATLANTA — Move over, Hall of Famer Warren Spahn ... you have some company.
On Monday, the Atlanta Braves announced pitcher Julio Teheran as the Opening Day starter on March 28, when the club travels to Philadelphia to face Bryce Harper and the Phillies.
For Teheran, this marks his sixth consecutive Opening Day start for the Braves – tying Spahn's franchise record from 1957-62 (with the Milwaukee Braves).
Covering the last six seasons, Teheran owns robust annual averages of 11 wins, 32 starts, 168 strikeouts, a 3.61 ERA and 1.19 WHIP; and in case you're wondering, here are the cumulative tallies for Teheran's last five Opening Day appearances:
1-1, 2.73 ERA, 20-14 K-BB rate (29.2 total innings)
Mike Foltynewicz might have been manager Brian Snitker's original choice for starting on March 28 (or the club's April 1 home opener), but that notion has been scuttled.
The reason: Foltynewicz (2018 stats: 13 wins, 202 Ks, 1.08 WHIP, 2.85 ERA) will stay in Florida throughout April to work through some elbow soreness/inflammation.
As such, for that first month of action, the Braves will likely operate through a four-man rotation of Teheran, Sean Newcomb, Kevin Gausman and Touki Toussaint ... and then rely on a combination of Luiz Gohara, Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka, Max Fried or Bryse Wilson for the fifth-day role, when applicable.
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