Braves starter Julio Teheran struggled on the mound, but he was able to grind it out and record his 10th win of the season as the Braves defeated the San Diego Padres 5-3.
Teheran pitched through adversity, as he was not able to throw his breaking stuff for strikes, but the offense picked him up. Even Teheran contributed with the bat as he executed the squeeze bunt to perfection. Atlanta’s All-Star pitcher had been nearly unhittable at home this year supporting a 1.23 ERA in 10 home starts, but Saturday night Teheran pitched six innings allowing three runs on nine hits, while striking out five Padre batters. In the end, Teheran gave his team a chance to win and his teammates rewarded him with run support, as well as the eventual victory.
The fourth inning was when the Braves offense took the lead and kept it. The Braves were down 2-1 going into the bottom of the fourth, but Jason Heyward and Evan Gattis led off the inning with walks. Chris Johnson tied the game with an RBI single off Padres starter Odrisamer Despaigne. After a fielding error by Despaigne, the Braves had runners at first and third with the pitcher Julio Teheran up with one out. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez reached into Bobby Cox’s old bag of tricks, squeeze bunting on the first pitch after a mound visit. It worked to perfection as Teheran laid down a perfect bunt that scored Chris Johnson in from third base giving the Braves a 3-2 lead.
The inning continued with a B.J. Upton walk and an infield single by Tommy La Stella that ended up scoring Simmons because of a throwing error by second baseman Yangervis Solarte. The eighth batter of the inning, Freddie Freeman, put the nail in the coffin on Despaigne’s outing with an RBI single that put the Braves up 5-2.
Despaigne had his first rough outing in the big leagues this year, only going three and two-third innings allowing five runs on six hits. He also walked five and struck out only three Atlanta Braves. A lot of things were different for Despaigne comparing this outing to his previous one against the Mets where he almost threw a no-hitter. The Braves lineup stayed patient and was able to make him work hard, especially in the fourth inning where he threw 42 pitches.
The Braves bullpen was able to come in and defuse the Padres offense. The three innings following Teheran’s outing, the Braves bullpen only allowed two base runners. Both of them were walks in the seventh inning by Shae Simmons. The back end of the bullpen, Jordan Walden and Craig Kimbrel, shut down the Padres lineup in dominating fashion. The best closer in the game Craig Kimbrel picked up his 31st save of the season by striking out the side.
Atlanta is now 1.5 games behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East after Washington lost to the Cincinnati Reds 1-0. The Braves are looking to close out these next two games against the Padres so they can finish the home stand with a winning record.