ATLANTA (AP) -- Through four innings, 21-year-old
Julio Teheran looked ready for the big leagues.
After
a disastrous fifth inning spoiled his day, Teheran promised he'll be
better prepared for his next opportunity with the
Braves.
Teheran and Livan Hernandez couldn't hold an
early four-run lead as the Toronto Blue Jays scored six runs in the
fifth and beat Atlanta 12-4 on Sunday.
Teheran, the
Braves' top prospect, was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill in
for Tim Hudson, who has bone spurs in his left ankle. Relying on his
curveball, Teheran allowed only one hit, Edwin Encarnacion's broken-bat
single, through four scoreless innings before wilting in the
fifth.
"I got a little bit too excited because I
wanted to win the game," Teheran said. "I got a little out of
control.
"I'll try to be better for the next
one."
Teheran gave up four hits and four runs in 4
1-3 innings before returning to Gwinnett, where he is 5-2 with a 3.15
ERA in 11 starts.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Teheran
was told this would be a one-game visit to Atlanta, no matter how he
fared.
"The first four innings, obviously, he's
nails," Gonzalez said. "And then one of those hurdles in the fifth. ...
Young kid, sometimes that kind of throws him out of
whack.
"But I thought the first four innings were as
impressive as I've seen him, a good mixture of fastballs and curveballs
and getting everything over for a strike. That fifth inning kind of got
away from us a little bit."
Brett Lawrie and Colby
Rasmus each homered and drove in three runs as the Blue Jays set a
season high with 18 hits.
Gonzalez said the loss
"might be the ugliest game we've played in a long
time."
The Blue Jays ended their three-game losing
streak and Atlanta's season-best six-game winning
streak.
"The way things started out, it wasn't
looking real promising," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. "We were
able to string a number of hits together. ... We were able to string
together not only the six runs but it continued on through the middle
and latter part of the game."
Blue Jays left-hander
Ricky Romero lasted only four innings. He gave up eight hits and four
runs, three earned.
A key to the Blue Jays' six-run
fifth was Farrell's decision to replace Romero with pinch-hitter Yan
Gomes, whose single drove in the first run and knocked Teheran out of
the game. It was the first of five straight run-scoring
hits.
Lawrie hit a two-run homer and Rasmus added a
homer off Hernandez as Toronto added three runs in the
sixth.
Carlos Villanueva (1-0) pitched two scoreless
innings.
Hernandez (1-1) gave up five runs on seven
hits, including two homers, in 1 2-3 innings. Hernandez has allowed nine
earned runs on 13 hits in 4 2-3 innings in his last two
appearances.
Kelly Johnson singled to start the
fifth. Yunel Escobar walked and, after David Cooper struck out, J.P.
Arencibia singled to load the bases in the fifth. Gomes' single, which
ended 0-for-16 slump, knocked Teheran out of the
game.
Hernandez quickly inspired boos from the
rain-drenched fans by giving up four straight hits: a single by Lawrie
to drive in a run, a two-run single by Rasmus, a run-scoring single by
Jose Bautista and Encarnacion's two-run double, giving the Blue Jays a
6-4 lead.
The boos grew louder in the sixth when
Hernandez was left on the mound to endure another barrage that included
the two-run homer by Lawrie, his fifth, followed by Rasmus' eighth
homer.
Gonzalez said he stuck with Hernandez because
he thought the right-hander's experience would enable him to
recover.
"He's not going to spook in that situation,"
Gonzalez said. "And they got him. Got to tip your cap to the Toronto
Blue Jays."
Rajai Davis singled in a run and
pinch-hitter Omar Vizquel drove in a run with a sacrifice fly off
Cristhian Martinez in the seventh. Kelly Johnson had triple off Martinez
to drive in a run in the eighth.
Chipper Jones came
off the disabled list and was 0-for-3 with a walk. Juan Francisco
replaced Jones in the seventh.
Dan Uggla was hit by a
pitch from Romero to open the second. Uggla moved to third on a double
by Matt Diaz and scored when Rasmus dropped the ball for an error after
making the catch on Freddie Freeman's fly ball.
David
Ross had a run-scoring single in the second and Freddie Freeman drove
in a run with a single in the third for Atlanta. Freeman had three
hits.
Uggla had played every inning this season
before he was replaced by Jack Wilson to open the
eighth.
Bautista and Rasmus made back-to-back diving
catches of drives by Michael Bourn and Martin Prado in the
eighth.
NOTES: The 18 hits are the
most for Toronto since they had 20 at Baltimore on Aug. 31, 2011. ...
The Braves optioned C J.C. Boscan and OF Jose Constanza to Triple-A
Gwinnett to clear roster spots for Teheran and Jones. RHP Cory Gearrin
will be recalled from Gwinnett, replacing Teheran, to pitch out of the
bullpen. ... Lawrie's RBI single in the fifth snapped an 0-for-17
drought. ... Hudson said his ankle feels better and he should be ready
to start on Wednesday against the Yankees. ... Randall Delgado will face
Ivan Nova in a matchup of right-handers when the Braves open a
three-game home series against the Yankees on Monday night. The Blue
Jays play another NL East team as they return home to open a series
against Washington on Monday night with RHP Brandon Morrow trying for
his eighth win.
