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 The right-hander allowed just one hit over seven shutout innings
while outdueling Matt Harvey in the Atlanta Braves' 1-0 victory over
the New York Mets on Sunday at Turner Field.
"I knew it was going to be a difficult game," Teheran said. "I was
just trying to keep us in the fight."
The win gave Atlanta a sweep of the three-game series and handed New
York its fifth consecutive loss. Atlanta (35-35) pulled within a
half-game of the Mets for second place in the National League East.
The Braves trail the first-place Washington Nationals by two games.
The Braves broke the scoreless tie in the seventh inning. Catcher
Ryan Lavarnway doubled high off the wall in left field with two outs
and scored on a pinch-hit single to shallow center field by Pedro
Ciriaco, who was batting for Teheran.
Lavarnway was able to slide in safely when the throw from sore-armed
center fielder Juan Lagares was off target on the first base side,
giving catcher Kevin Plawecki no chance to make a tag.
"With Harvey at 111 pitches and Ciriaco on the bench and a runner in
scoring position, we had to take a shot at it," Atlanta manager
Fredi Gonzalez said. "Ciriaco keeps coming off the bench and making
things happen."
Teheran (5-3) won for the first time since May 21, ending a streak
of five starts without a victory. He struck out five and walked two
and lowered his ERA from 5.07 to 4.67
It was Teheran's longest scoreless outing since going six innings
against the Reds on May 3. Teheran had allowed four or more runs in
three of his last four starts.
"I felt really good today," Teheran said. "I was trying to do my job
and keep the winning streak going."
Nick Masset retired the first two batters in the eighth inning but
was yanked after third baseman Eric Campbell ended an 0-for-18
streak with a double into the left field corner. Lefty Dana Eveland,
who pitched for the Mets last season, came in and struck out pinch
hitter John Mayberry Jr.
Jim Johnson pitched the ninth inning in lieu of closer Jason Grilli,
who worked the two previous nights. Johnson allowed the first two
batters to reach, but he induced first baseman Lucas Duda to fly out
to left and got left fielder Michael Cuddyer to hit into a
game-ending double play. Johnson earned his fourth save.
Harvey (7-5) was victimized by a lot of deep counts early in the
game, and he wound up throwing 115 pitches. He pitched 6 2/3 innings
and allowed one run on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
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"Matt pitched a great game," Mets manager Terry Collins said.
"Ciriaco hit a great pitch. He got just enough of it to get it into
center field."
Alex Torres replaced Harvey in the seventh and walked two batters to
load the bases before retiring first baseman Kelly Johnson on a lazy
fly to center. Carlos Torres struck out two in a scoreless eighth
inning.
It was the sixth shutout by Atlanta pitchers this year. New York was
blanked for the seventh time, the second time in five days. The Mets
have scored only six runs in the first five games of their current
road trip.
"I don't think it's anything wrong with our approach," Collins said.
"We're just not squaring the ball up. ... We're not getting the big
hits when we need them."
NOTES: The Braves traded INF Phil Gosselin to the Arizona
Diamondbacks for RHP Bronson Arroyo and minor league RHP Touki
Toussaint late Saturday. Gosselin has been on the disabled list
since May 18 with a fractured left thumb and won't be able to return
until mid-July. ... The Braves opted to err on the side of caution
and kept 1B Freddie Freeman (right wrist) out of the starting lineup
for the fourth straight day. Freeman is listed as day-to-day, but is
expected to return on Tuesday. ... Mets 3B Ruben Tejada sat out due
to a twisted ankle. New York was also without RHP Jeurys Familia
(left groin tightness). Both are expected to be available Tuesday.
... Both New York and Atlanta are idle Monday. The Braves open a
three-game series at Washington on Tuesday, with LHP Alex Wood (4-4)
on the mound. The Nationals have not determined their starter. The
Mets continue their road trip to Milwaukee, where they will send LHP
Jonathon Niese (3-7) vs. Brewers RHP Mike Fiers (3-7).
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