Three Cuts: Freeman gives Braves walk-off win after Kimbrel blows save
ATLANTA -- As the Cubs' Wesley Wright was intentionally walking Justin Upton he looked over at the on-deck circle, where Freddie Freeman, waited. The two Braves looked at each other and laughed.
Freeman proceeded to deliver a walk-off single, their surest thing in the lineup giving them a 3-2 win in 10 innings Friday that included some unexpected drama after their surest thing in the bullpen failed to come through.
"It kind of fires you up if you're not fired up already to go into a bottom of an inning to hit a walk-off, them intentionally walking someone to get to you," Freeman said.
It was a much-needed win for the Braves, who had lost seven of their last eight -- and a victory that nearly slipped through their hands as Craig Kimbrel blew his second save and had his first outing this season without a strikeout.
But the Braves came through as the Cubs opted to walk the right-handed Upton to set up a lefty-lefty matchup vs. Freeman. It was the first baseman's second extra-innings heroics in less than two weeks, as he delivered a game-winning single on April 27 vs. the Reds.
"He comes up big in those situations whether he's facing a lefty or a righty," said manager Fredi Gonzalez. "He did a terrific job there fighting against Wright."
An MLB-best eighth quality start is proof that Julio Teheran has become the ace the Braves rotation thought it was lacking -- and so too is how the 23-year-old rebounded after a giving up a career-high number of home runs his last time out.
Teheran allowed three homers -- all solo -- in last Saturday vs. the Giants, and the Cubs' Mike Olt added to that total with a one-run shot in the third inning on a 3-1 pitch. But it would be the only hit Teheran allowed as the right-hander would then proceed to retire 17 in a row, a streak that wouldn't end until a walk of Olt in the eighth, as he struck out nine and walked two in all in eight innings of work.
"I know that I made an early mistake and I was really focused after that," Teheran said. "The last inning I walked (Olt) again, but I didn't want make the same mistake I made again."
It was the lowest hit total Teheran (2-2, 1.71 ERA, 0.810 WHIP) has had since he took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning against the Pirates on June 5, 2013 and his highest strikeout game in 18 dating back to Aug. 1 when he fanned 11 Rockies.
A small strike zone from umpire Mike Winters -- he of the 3.28 walks per nine innings last year, 0.48 higher than average -- may have played a part as Teheran fell behind in the count against six of the first batters he faced. But from there he trailed against just five of the next 19 Cubs plate appearance, at one point going first-pitch strike against 10 of 12.
"Early on he scattered the ball a little bit, if you go back to the first couple of bats," Gonzalez said. "But then he dialed down and got strikeouts. He's been like this for a while, he gets his secondary pitches over, his two-seamer gets off the barrel against even a left-handed dominant hitting lineup."
Teheran now has six games with at least six innings pitched, two or less earned runs and no more than two walks allowed. The only player that can match him this season is Teheran's former Braves teammate, the Giants' Tim Hudson.
Chris Johnson's turned on Jason Hammel's offering, the ball shooting between the Cubs' Starlin Castro and Mike Olt for a two-run single in the third inning. That go-ahead, line-drive hit came two frames after the Braves third baseman got a gift from the weather as Castro slipped on the grass trying to field Johnson's sharp grounder.
Call it a stroke of luck for a hitter that has thrived on it, continuing to play well above the major-league average when it comes to BABIP, but Johnson is now looking more like the version that challenged for a National League batting title a year ago.
He closed out the season's first month with a 2 for 23 slide, that saw Johnson's average drop to .231. But with Friday's 3-for-4, two RBI performance, he's now hit safely in three straight games and five of the last eight.
While he's hitting .262/.289/.336 overall, Johnson has a May average of .354 and is at .400 over the past five games.
"My swing's coming along a little better," Johnson said. "I'm working on that bat path and going to keep working at it, but I feel like it's getting up and getting a little more comfortable."
What hasn't changed, even during his April slump, was Johnson's line-drive rate, which at 28.4 percent, is higher than last year (27.0). Coupled with a very slight drop in his strikeouts -- 28.4 percent over his first 88 at-bats; 21.2 in 33 since -- that line-drive rate is seeing an increase in his BABIP. That number sits at .355, well above the MLB average of .290-.310 (per FanGraphs), and run over the month of May, Johnson has a BABIP of .500.
"He gives you good at-bats, quality at-bats, time after time," Gonzalez said. "He even stole a base today. It's good to see him in the middle of that lineup keeping the line moving."
That aforementioned second base in the eighth inning was a rarity. It was Johnson's first steal since April 7, 2012.
In a temporary fix for what 's become a loaded rotation, manager Fredi Gonzalez announced Friday that Alex Wood would shift to a reliever role instead of making his scheduled Saturday start vs. the Cubs. Wood will return to the starting staff on May 17 against the Cardinals, then Gonzalez will reevaluate things in a week.
"This buys us eight days, nine with the off days" Gonzalez said.
It didn't take long for Wood to make his first appearance out of the bullpen, coming in to pitch the 10th and earning the win, his first since April 12. After yielding a leadoff single to Luis Valbuena, he struck out Junior Lake, got John Baker to fly out to center, then fanned Chris Coughlan.
All along the plan had been to limit the innings of Wood, 23, who is 2-5 with a 3.00 ERA was on pace for 221 innings and 34 starts and the Braves are looking to keep him around the 170-inning mark. He threw 122 2/3 last season.
The addition of Wood in the bullpen gives Atlanta a second left-hander alongside Luis Avilan, who has struggled at times this season with a 6.10 ERA and nine strikeouts to six walks in 10 1/3 innings.
"Putting Wood in there kind of gives us a little breather and kind of gives him a little breather," Gonzalez said.
Wood was effective last season as a reliever with a 2.08 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. He struck out 23 while walking five and had a .233 batting average against.
Part of what looked like a patchwork rotation to start the season, Wood has thrived allowing two or less runs in six of his seven starts, but he's received just 1.9 runs of support in losing five of those decisions.
The Braves have already moved David Hale to the bullpen to free up a rotation spot for Mike Minor, but with Gavin Floyd joining the mix early this week -- and delivering a surprising seven innings with one run allowed -- Gonzalez was left with a surplus of starters.
Moving Wood changes that -- just for the time being -- while filling a need for the late innings.
"Since we've had six starters, we've kind of playing short with the bullpen," Gonzalez said. "A couple of times, we've come really, really close to putting somebody in jeopardy -- you know, three (days) in a row, four in a row, four out of five days."
