ATLANTA -- On an evening in which former third baseman Chipper Jones' number retirement stole the show, the Braves shut out the Diamondbacks, 3-0. Here are three observations from the game:
As the two young arms presumed to be vying for the fifth spot in the Braves' rotation this past offseason -- up until one of them was dealt to the NL West in January -- Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado will, in many ways, be tied together throughout their career. One (Teheran) was the young pitcher the Braves organization placed its faith in; the other (Delgado) became a trade piece to bring star power to its offense.
By all accounts, as of June 28, 2013, Atlanta made the correct call on which player received the no-trade designation. Friday offered little to change opinions in that regard.
Entering the game, Teheran had proven himself one of the brightest young arms in the National League, rattling off a 5-4 record in 14 starts with a 3.32 ERA -- the eighth-best mark in baseball for qualified starters age 24 and under. That list, in order, reads: Matt Harvey, Patrick Corbin, Shelby Miller, Stephen Strasburg, Chris Sale, Jose Fernandez, Madison Bumgarner, Julio Teheran. That's incredible company to be in.
"I'm feeling like every time I get somebody in two strikes, just to make one pitch to get a strikeout if I can. If I don't strike him out, just take an out," Teheran, 22, said. "I got more confidence in more pitches, so I feel like I can throw any at any time."
He's only getting better, too.
After flirting with a no-hitter on June 5 (eight innings, one hit), he capped off the month by pitching six innings of shutout ball, scattering just one walk and four hits.
"He gave us a great opportunity to win tonight's game," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "I think his breaking pitches were a lot better, a lot sharper as the night went on."
Friday night also marked his second career game with 10 or more strikeouts.
Month to month, Teheran has lowered his ERA from 5.08 (April) to 2.60 (May) to 1.95 (June).
Delgado, on the other hand, started the season at Triple-A Reno and struggled immediately. His walk rate reached a career-worst (at any level) 4.92 per nine innings, falling to 2-5 with a 5.91 ERA. But he's improved since his call-up earlier this month (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 0.64 walks per nine), so it was only fitting that in his return to Turner Field Teheran, his best friend, took the mound against him for the club that signed them both as amateur free agents in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
Delgado's final line, though not up to Teheran's dominance, was far from disappointing: six innings pitched, two earned runs, eight hits allowed, three walks. Taking away the obvious -- the Braves strand runners with the best (or worst) of them -- it was the second quality start of Delgado's young 2013 campaign.
At this point, the reasons behind dealing Delgado instead of Teheran are apparent, almost too apparent to continually harp on. Both were quality arms in the Braves' farm system, but Teheran clearly offered (and is presumably developing into) the top-of-the-rotation potential that Delgado just never could.
"(Teheran) just goes out there and battles," Braves second baseman Dan Uggla said. "I think he's learning from each start. Not just going, 'Oh yeah, I dominated that game.' I think he's really studying and looking at what he did right and making huge strides."
When Prado found out he was traded this past offseason in the Justin Upton deal -- the same deal Delgado was moved in -- he made sure to phone Jones, the subject of the night's pomp and circumstance. Jones always approved of Prado's approach to the game, repeatedly pinpointing him as one of his favorite teammates, and did more than simply offer advice.
He made Prado a promise.
"I told him that if I ever become a manager or a general manager in the near future that I'm coming after him," said Jones, who finished his career as baseball's only switch-hitter to hit at least .300 with 300 home runs. "He's a guy that helps you win 95, 100 games."
Prado's production has declined since the move. After finished 2012 as one of the most valuable outfielders in the National League, he's hitting a career-worst .241/.292/.347 as he transitions back to primarily playing the infield. Entering the Braves series, he was performing below replacement level (-0.7 WAR).
Still, that did little to detract from his return to the city that embraced him so tightly, as Chipper singled him out from the podium during the pregame to wild cheers. It took the former Brave not one, but two tips of the cap to get through ovation-filled evening. The hometown crowd watched him succeed, reaching base twice, but the Diamondbacks' offense could not muster a single run … pretty much a win-win from Atlanta's perspective.
The Braves' second baseman hit his third triple in a season for the first time since 2007, but he joked during postgame interviews that it came as no surprise.
"I've got wheels, man," he said. "I've got wheels."
And while it's true that Uggla has always been one to hustle down any line, his performance at the plate does not always lend itself to such shows of acceleration. His 2-for-4 night against the Diamondbacks marked the first time this season he's hit two extra-base hits in a game. On the year, he has nearly as many triples (3) as doubles (5) -- if the former were to somehow eclipse the latter, he'd be the first player since Andres Torres in 2009 to pull off the feat.
He ended up scoring an eighth-inning insurance run after the triple, hustling home on Reed Johnson's squeeze bunt.
More importantly, at least in Uggla's mind, is that his two hits brought him up over .200 again for the season. He hopes to stay there this time around. That may come off as patronizing, but the 33-year-old himself sarcastically reference the mark as far below where he intends to be.
"Man, I feel like I'm hitting .300. Obviously that is a far number, but I'm finding holes and having better at-bats sort of," he said. "It was tough, for whatever reason, getting above .200, getting to .200, but now I'm just gonna reset my goals and try and keep going in the right direction."
