Teheran exits early with back pain in loss

PHILADELPHIA -- The Braves jumped out to a three-run lead Friday night against the Phillies. The lead was short-lived, and so was Julio Teheran's start.
Teheran was pulled after three innings and 43 pitches due to tightness in his right trapezius. The Braves bullpen gave up four runs to the Phillies in a 7-3 loss.
Teheran said the injury was minor and could have been caused by sleeping awkwardly. Both Teheran and Braves manager Brian Snitker expect the right-hander to make his next start.
"It's nothing we need to worry about. I'm a smart guy and I know when I need to worry," Teheran said. "I know when it's something I can get through, and we can make it better … Even today, I felt I could make it to the fifth."
It was immediately clear Friday that Teheran did not have his usual stuff.
Teheran threw mostly offspeed pitches, and his velocity was down when he went to his fastball. Teheran's four-seam fastball was averaging 87.1 mph. He came in averaging 89.1 mph on the pitch this season and hit 92 mph in his last start.
The veteran righty gave up three runs in the short outing. Teheran walked the first two batters he faced and then Odúbel Herrera took him deep in the first inning.

Herrera's homer off Teheran erased a 3-0 lead the Braves built off Aaron Nola in the first inning. Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuña Jr. both had RBI hits in the inning.
Teheran allowed one other hit but no more runs before exiting. He said he was hoping the shoulder muscle would loosen up as the game went on, but he battled it throughout the start.

"I thought it was going to go away when I got warm and got in the game," he said. "It stayed the same. Obviously the [velocity] I was throwing wasn't good, 85, 87 miles per hour. I was out there trying to do my job and compete."
If the issue subsides and Teheran can make his next start, it will be welcomed news for the Braves, who already have two starters on the disabled list in Aníbal Sánchez and Luiz Gohara.
"It was something that wasn't loosening up and we didn't want to take a chance on him gigging something and missing some significant amount of time," Snitker said.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Inning Ender: The Braves had their best chance to tie the game or take the lead in the seventh inning. The Braves had three hits in the inning against Nola, who passed the 100-pitch mark by the end of the frame. Ender Inciarte stepped to the plate with runners on first and second and two outs but grounded out to shortstop. Nola finished his start with six consecutive scoreless innings and the Phillies extended their lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the inning.

Swiping and scoring: The Braves scored their second run of the first inning on a double steal. With runners on the corners, Freeman took second base and Ozzie Albies, who had a bloop double earlier in the inning, easily took home after the Phillies threw to second base.

SOUND SMART
Acuna hammered an RBI double to left-center field in the first inning. Acuna, in his third Major League game, had a 111.8-mph exit velocity on the double, according to Statcast™. It's the hardest-hit ball any Braves batter has registered all season.
• Red-hot phenom Acuna rocks Phils' ace Nola

UP NEXT
The Braves turn to right-hander Mike Foltynewicz on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. ET in the middle of a three-game set against the Phillies. Foltynewicz has 33 strikeouts in 26 innings this season, but the Braves are 0-2 in his previous pair of starts against the Phillies. He opposes Phillies right-hander Nick Pivetta.