Braves blanked by Blue Jays
ATLANTA — Marcus Stroman threw 5 2/3 strong innings and hit the second homer by a pitcher in Blue Jays history to lead Toronto over Julio Teheran and the Atlanta Braves 9-0 on Thursday night.
Darrell Ceciliani, recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday, had a run-scoring double in the first and a tworun homer in the third before leaving with a left shoulder injury. Ceciliani started in center field after Kevin Pillar was suspended two games without pay for yelling an anti-gay slur at Braves reliever Jason Motte during Wednesday night’s game.
Teheran hit Jose Bautista with a pitch in the first inning, a day after Bautista’s bat flip following a home
run drew criticism from the Braves. Teheran’s first pitch to Bautista was inside. The second pitch hit Bautista’s thigh. Bautista walked to first base as home plate umpire Paul Emmel issued warnings to both benches.
Teheran (3-4) allowed a career-high nine runs in threeplus innings in his fourth straight home loss.
The Braves, who scored eight or more runs in three straight wins over Toronto with Freddie Freeman in the lineup, saw their offense disappear after learning the first baseman will miss about 10 weeks with a fractured left wrist.
Kendrys Morales drove in two runs with four hits. Luke Maile and Stroman hit backto-back homers in the fourth. Stroman’s first career homer was the first by a Toronto pitcher since Mark Hendrickson’s shot against Montreal on June 21, 2003.
Stroman (4-2) allowed seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. He improved to 6-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 12 career interleague games, including nine starts. Teheran suffered through another ugly start at SunTrust Park, allowing nine hits, including three homers. He is 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA in four road starts and 1-4 with a 10.50 ERA in five home starts.
Dwight Smith Jr., the son of the former outfielder who played for four teams, including the Braves, was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to replace Pillar on the roster. Smith entered the game in left field in the third when Ceciliani left.