ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves got two runs in the second inning, added two more in the third and then for good measure scored twice in the fourth inning for all the runs starting pitcher Julio Teheran would need to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates.
With their 6-2 win on Wednesday, the Braves won their first game in six tries, and have now won two of their last 12. The blow of an extremely rough September can be softened a bit if the team wins its remaining four games on the schedule to finish a with .500 record.
Four of Atlanta's six runs were scored by the bottom of the batting order. Chris Johnson crossed the plate twice, and Christian Bethancourt and B.J. Upton once. The four hitters from the six hole to the nine hole (that includes Teheran) went 6 for 11 (.546) and got on base nine times.
Here are three observations from Wednesday's six-run extravaganza:
In three of Teheran's last four starts, the Braves scored zero runs. In the fourth, Atlanta only plated two, and not surprisingly, Teheran took the loss on all for games.
What does the ace of the staff do when he's lost his last four starts and the offense has provided an average of half a run per game? If you're Teheran, you grab a bat and make the offense happen yourself.
Teheran singled in the second inning, and then drove in two runs in the third with another single. He was 2 for 2 on Wednesday and perhaps tongue-in-cheek said he dug a little deeper to make sure he excelled on the mound and at the plate.
"I really wanted to get this win," said Teheran. "I was trying to do my best, hitting and pitching."
The win was important because it matched his win total from last season. Teheran posted back-to-back 14-win seasons, but more important is the fact that he lowered his ERA dramatically.
Teheran was 14-8 in 2013 with a 3.20 ERA. With Wednesday being his last start of the season, his 2014 ERA dropped to 2.89 and he finished with a 14-13 record. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said there were other ways in which Teheran improved from last year to now.
"Really, really good season for him, and he got to 220 something innings (221) if I'm not mistaken; over the 220 mark," said Gonzalez. "And that's a big number for him. I think that's the first time he gets over the 200-inning mark. Those are good positives, he ends the year with a 'W' in a nice outing and also he drives in a couple of runs himself."
The 200-inning plateau is a mythical beast for starting pitchers. Teams are so careful getting a young pitcher to that level in hopes that he can remain there for years to come. Teheran is 23 and his 221 innings this season were 30 1/3 more than last season.
Teheran's rise of 30 1/3 innings was approximately a 16 percent jump from 2013 to 2014. That slight rise in innings pitched is right in line with a hypothesis called The Year After Effect, popularized by Tom Verducci, who stated that pitchers under the age of 25 shouldn't have their innings increased from year to year by more than 30.
The workload added to Teheran's arm by the Braves didn't seem to bother the young hurler. But the real test will be next spring, when he reports to camp.
With his two-run blast in the fourth inning, Upton set a new personal best as a member of the Braves with 28 home runs. He still needs four home runs to pass his career high of 31, a mark he set in 2011 with the Arizona Cardinals. He'll need to go on an April-like stretch over the next four games, however, to have a shot at touching his career high.
Speaking of good months, September has not been one for Upton.
Upton brought his September batting average up to .155 with his 2-for-4 night on Wednesday. The combination of March and April was phenomenal for the left fielder. He blasted eight home runs, tied a monthly high with 30 hits (he also notched 30 hits in July and August) and enjoyed his only month with an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) over one at 1.041.
In contrast, before Wednesday Upton had just one home run in September, just six RBI and owned a .429 OPS.
In August, Upton was flirting with the National League MVP race. But then his bat turned ice cold. The rough patch actually started on Aug. 23 in Cincinnati, when Upton started a 27-game stretch where he hit .162 with two home runs and 11 RBI.
As bad as Upton's September has been, his two-run home run on Wednesday brought his RBI total to 99 for the season, already a career high. With one more RBI, he'll enter the 100-RBI club.
If Upton drives in another run in one of Atlanta's final four games of the season, it will mark the second time since 2008 that the Braves have had a hitter join the century club. Freddie Freeman drove in 109 runs in 2013.
"We've got four games left, why stop at 100," said Gonzalez. "I know he's got an opportunity to get to 100 RBI and 30 home runs, he gets hot so quickly, he could get to 105 and add to his home run total."
After Johnson's fourth-inning double, his second of the game, he returned to the field, but was removed upon his arrival back in the dugout.
Gonzalez called it a strained back after the game, and said the team didn't think it was anything major. He said the team would evaluate his back on Thursday, and if Johnson needed a day off, he'd be given one.
Johnson elaborated on the injury.
"I swung and then I tried to come back across and try to run, and the left side of my back kind of locked up a little bit," said Johnson. "I tried to deal with it and go out and play defense, but when I was playing defense, when I tried to get back up, it was still kind of locked up."
Johnson said his back was adjusted after the injury, and he was told his back was a little out of line. Johnson said he'd never had back problems in the past, and he's treating this as just a freak occurrence. He said he expects to play as long as he isn't too sore on Thursday.
