Taking three cuts after the Braves made a push with five runs in the last two innings but fell to the Padres 7-6 Monday in San Diego.
Coming off the strongest performance of his young career, Julio Teheran took a step back and it brought an end to an impressive run by the Braves starters.
Atlanta's starters had allowed two earned runs or less in nine straight games, the longest such streak since Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Kevin Millwood, John Burkett and Odalis Perez did it for 10 consecutive games from April 11-21, 2001.
But behind Will Venables' three-run home run and a solo shot by Logan Forsythe it was over by the fourth inning. It was the first time since April 18 vs. the Pirates that Teheran had allowed multiple home runs and he hadn't allowed five runs since his first start of the season against the Cubs on April 6.
While Teheran threw first-pitch strikes to the first 12 batters he faced in last Wednesday's flirtation with a no-hitter vs. Pittsburgh, that same command wasn't on display in San Diego as he went up 0-1 on just five of the first 12 batters and 11 of 23 overall.
With the debate raging over whom Brandon Beachy will replace -- he's scheduled to come off the disabled list June 18 -- Teheran, who came into the year looking like a place-holder until Beach's return, didn't do himself any favors in the eyes of many observers.
But let's not forget that in his previous eight starts was 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA, 43 strikeouts and eight walks in 55 innings and since April 23 Teheran had the fourth-lowest ERA in the National League at 2.13, trailing only the Pirates' Jeff Locke (1.66), the Nationals' Jordan Zimmermann (1.73) and the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw (1.95).
Ultimately, it was just a bad outing for a 22-year-old that has been extremely strong since his first three starts of the season. No his timing wasn't great, but Teheran should have another chance to make his case before the Beachy Dilemma comes to play with the regular days off putting him back on the mound Sunday against the Giants.
Move over, Tommy Gregg. You have company.
It was Gregg who held the Braves record for pinch-hit home runs in a season with four in 1990, but Gregg didn't have a catchy nickname like El Oso Blanco or the same penchant for late-game heroics as Evan Gattis.
Coming in with one out in the ninth, Gattis took Tim Stauffer deep on an 87-mph slider for a three-run shot. It was his 14th homer of the season, the fourth as a pinch-hitter -- he's now 6-for-8 with a double, four homers, 11 RBI and a walk in this situations -- and it was the sixth that has come in the eighth inning or later.
Gattis wasn't the only one that added to the late fireworks as Jason Heyward smacked his second homer of the game, a solo shot, with two outs. But Gattis only added to his legend, making his All-Star Game write-in campaign all the more intriguing.
B.J. Upton's early struggles have been well documented, but as a refresher he hit .143/.225/.275 in April and wasn't much better in May at .145/.230/.245. and after racking up a career-best 28 homers in 2012, had four in his first 180 plate appearances.
June, though, is looking like it may be Bossman Junior's month.
After going 2-for-4 Monday with a double, his fifth of the season, the elder Upton now has a .275/.416/.535 slash line this month with two homers and four RBI. He's also hit safely in the last three games, something he hadn't done as a Brave.
The strikeouts are still high, with Upton posting a 25.7 rate in nine games in June, but it's markedly better than his April/May split of 35 percent.
Considering his spring woes Upton has plenty of ground to make up to make a run at his career averages of .250/.332/.415 with 20 HRs, 73 RBI and the inability to get on base early has hampered his ability steal with just three on the year.
But so far, June has been something Braves fans have been clamoring for with it comes to this Upton brother: consistency.
