Braves manager Brian Snitker made a tough decision to rest Freddie Freeman and Ender Inciarte with homefield on the line Thursday night.
That put a little extra pressure on Julio Teheran, who was possibly pitching for his spot in the postseason rotation. Teheran had one blunder, but otherwise maintained his usually excellent performance against the Mets.
His offense and bullpen couldn’t carry their weight, and the Mets won 4-1 behind a three-run homer from Devin Mesoraco. They won the three-game series and kept the Braves tied with Colorado at 89 wins.
The Braves finished 13-6 against the Mets in 2018. They’re 48-25 in the NL East with three games remaining.
Jason Vargas, who’s been anything but stellar against the Braves, threw seven shutout innings. He entered with a 6.14 ERA in three starts against the visitors.
Less than 24 hours after being suppressed by Jacob deGrom, the Braves bats simply didn’t have much again. Vargas allowed just one hit through 4-2/3 innings. Ryan Flaherty’s third-inning single – his first in 23 at-bats – was the team’s lone early knock.
“I want to play all the guys this weekend (in Philadelphia) because we’ll have a few days off,” Snitker said. “Today was scheduled. Last night we got beat by arguably the best pitcher in the game. Tonight, Vargas was really good. ... We had some good swings, hit some balls hard, couldn’t get anything going. Just one of those games.”
In the sixth, Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies both hit two-out singles, but Amed Rosario made an excellent snag at shortstop and threw Nick Markakis out.
Acuna drove in the Braves’ only run in the eighth but Albies flew out and Markakis grounded out to end the threat. The Braves had two on with two down in the ninth, but Freeman’s pinch-hit appearance ended with a strikeout.
After the struggling Jesse Biddle allowed a Jay Bruce single and walked Todd Frazier, Brad Brach was tasked with keeping the game manageable. Mesoraco hammered one into the second deck of left-field seats and the game felt finished.
Biddle, Brach and Dan Winkler have been vital in getting the Braves to the postseason, but two could be left off the new roster. The Braves need fresher arms, and the likelihood of a starter or two, including Touki Toussaint, being moved to the bullpen cuts into the available spots.
Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki took Teheran deep in the third for a one-run lead. It was all the Braves righty allowed as he held the opposition to fewer than three runs for the seventh time in his past 11 starts.
He finished after six innings, allowing three hits, striking out five and walking two.
“I feel really good,” Teheran said. “That’s the way I wanted to finish the regular season. My last two months I’ve felt really good. It’s not how you start it’s how you finish and obviously I’m walking away happy with how I finished the regular season.”
Opponents finished with a .196 average against Teheran, besting Greg Maddux’s .197 mark in 1995 for best in team history. He also continued his success in New York, where his career ERA is 2.39 after 24 starts.
“He’s always been really good here,” Snitker said. “He was really good tonight. ... I went back and looked, and that kid could have 15 wins right now. He was a victim of not a lot of runs. We won a lot of the games he started but he didn’t get credit for them. If he had some leads, his record would be really good.”
Teheran is the favorite for the fourth starter slot in the playoffs. He’s the franchise’s five-time opening day starter. He’s pitched better of late, and has no bullpen experience to lean on. His first inning is typically his worst, which isn’t an ideal quality for a reliever.
The Braves could use Mike Foltynewicz, Anibal Sanchez, Kevin Gausman and Teheran as their starters with Sean Newcomb and Touki Toussaint on standby. Snitker has repeatedly said their rotation depends on matchups, and it’s worth noting Teheran’s numbers at Coors Field are vastly better than his production at Dodger Stadium.
Teheran owns a 2.96 ERA in four starts in Denver, not allowing a home run. He’s allowed eight long balls in four starts at Dodger Stadium, contributing to his 5.92 ERA at Chavez Ravine.
Snitker suggested he already knows how the rotation will play out, and while the recent showings from Sean Newcomb, Toussaint and Teheran were promising, they didn’t change his thinking.
“For me, this thing is a process and we played 159 games now,” he said. “There’s a lot of credence in what we’ve done up until now. This isn’t tryout camp. You want to see some guys and get them in there, but the total body of work speaks for itself.”
The Rockies hold a one-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West. Colorado hosts the Nationals while the Dodgers travel to San Francisco to end the season. The Braves will be in Philadelphia trying to obtain home-field advantage over either. They lose both tie-breakers.
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