Gonzalez, Braves searching for 'old Teheran' as pitcher gets lit up in Boston
Something's up with Atlanta Braves ace Julio Teheran, and manager Fredi Gonzalez is on a mission to figure out how to get him back to his usual self.
The normally overpowering pitcher hasn't fared well this season, and currently lugs a 5.07 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 81 2/3 innings with a 4-3 record on the season.
Teheran was bounced around again on Tuesday by the Boston Red Sox, who nabbed 13 hits and six earned runs off the righty in 6 1/3 innings.
"Just one bad inning," said Teheran, who surrendered four collective runs in the sixth and seventh innings. "I made a couple of pitches and they got me. Other than that, I shut them down for a couple of innings, and in the sixth and seventh innings I got in trouble again. I think I made a couple of mistake pitches and they hit me pretty good."
Teheran hasn't won a game since May 21, and has compiled a 6.97 ERA in his last five starts. His record has dipped to 4-3 after a 4-1 start to the season.
"That's what it seems to be like here in the last couple of starts, whether it's the seventh inning or the eighth inning of a game he's pitched well, or an inning where the game is tied or one-run and we just can't keep it there," manager Fredi Gonzalez said, noticing a pattern in Teheran's recent starts. "We need to do something against those left-handed hitters. They're just wearing him out. I don't know if he's just leaving balls over the plate."
Gonzalez notes that the 24-year-old righty is feeling fine health-wise and hasn't experienced a dip in his velocity.
The manager's now tasked with delving deeper into Teheran's shortcomings and trying to enable a change.
"We've just got to figure out getting back to the old Teheran," Gonzalez said.
(h/t Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Photo credit: Jim Rogash/Getty Images
