Julio Teheran overcomes SunTrust woes, stifles streaking Phillies

Julio Teheran  of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at SunTrust Park on April 16, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Credit: Kevin C. Cox

Credit: Kevin C. Cox

Julio Teheran of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at SunTrust Park on April 16, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Julio Teheran doesn’t pitch well at SunTrust Park, at least until he does.

One of those nights was Monday, when Teheran outdueled Phillies ace Aaron Nola in route to a 2-1 Braves win. Teheran went six innings, allowing five hits, striking out nine and walking three on 96 pitches (61) strikes.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough. Certainly better than his last home start in which Teheran allowed five runs in 2-1/3 innings versus the Nationals on April 3.

His Monday outing was the fourth time in 20 home starts that Teheran held the opposition to one or no runs.

“I felt really good going out there,” Teheran said. “My slider was working really good today. I used it a lot. … In that first inning, I was able to hold the game and give those guys a chance to score. They’ve been doing great with the offense. And I felt I needed to do my part.”

The first inning Teheran referenced was the only damage done. Outfielder Odubel Herrera homered to center with two outs in the inning. Herrera has been a nightmare for Braves pitchers, collecting his 27th extra base hit against them since 2015, second most in MLB (Bryce Harper, 29).

Teheran settled in from there. J.P. Crawford singled to start the second, but Teheran struck out the next three hitters.

“He just kind of kept pitching,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “The breaking ball was really good. He kept the ball down really well. Just competed great. It was just a really solid outing for him.”

He had some help from his defense and boneheaded baserunning in the third. After walking Carlos Santana, Herrera singled and tried to stretch it into a double. He was out at second.

“He threw a lot of strikes, got ahead,” catcher Kurt Suzuki said. “Got a lot of hitters on some good, quality breaking balls. Just kind of typical Julio fashion. Got ahead, got the guy out of there, keep the ball out over the middle of the plate. That’s kind of the name of the game.”

Teheran gave up two hits the rest of the way, including four shallow fly balls. Shane Carle, A.J. Minter and Arodys Vizcaino combined to allow one hit in three innings of relief.

After his first two starts produced a 10.13 ERA (nine earned runs allowed in eight innings), Teheran has stabilized in his last two starts.

The right-hander has allowed three earned runs in his last 12 innings. He attributes confidence in his slider as a chief reason for his recent success.

Teheran’s nine strikeouts were the most he’s recorded since striking out 12 Oct. 12, 2016, against Detroit in the final game at Turner Field.

“I’ve been working, been in my bullpens with the pitching coach,” Teheran said. “I want it like it was two years ago, control it where they know what’s coming and still it was hard. It’s easy when you have a pitch like that and you can throw it and you have the confidence. Today I felt like I had the confidence, even throwing it 3-2, and that’s something that I did a lot. It was an advantage for me.”