Then he wound up being the hero.
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Pierzynski, who entered as a replacement for injured starter Christian Bethancourt in the top of the inning, dropped a single into shallow center field to drive in Simmons.
Atlanta took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Freeman doubled, moved to third on a fly ball and scored on Maybin’s single.
“He’s had some good at-bats”, Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He’d been to the cage, but his legs weren’t really loose”.
With one out in the ninth, Simmons reached on an infield hit off Luis Garcia (3-6) and advanced to second on third baseman Cody Asche’s errant throw to first.
The Phillies brought in a fifth infielder, but it did not matter.
The Philadelphia Philies haven’t been winning a lot of games but many of their new faces are gaining experience. “They didn’t know what I was throwing”. “It was just a matter of finding some grass out there”. The rookie has won six of seven decisions since losing his major-league debut to Tampa Bay on July 21, but has given up six runs on nine hits in two of his three September outings. Their 56-94 record is four games worse than Atlanta’s as they inch closer to clinching the No. 1 pick in June’s draft.
Peter Moylan (1-0) recorded the final two outs in the ninth. After was pulled in favor of Moylan, Braves fans gave Teheran an ovation as he walked to the dugout and he tipped his cap in acknowledgement. “I didn’t want him to get a walk and a bloop and ruin a good performance, get him out on a positive note”.
The 24-year-old right-hander was helped by strong defense in the first inning Sunday. It is the fourth consecutive start in which Teheran has allowed two or fewer runs.
“I am feeling confident”, Teheran said. “He can be tough when he’s on. So we’ll just look at it after his next start and see where he’s at”. “Right now nobody is swinging the bats”. “Nobody is making adjustments on the secondary pitches”.
“Teheran pitched very well”, Mackanin said.
Atlanta Braves’ Freddie Freeman hits a two run double against the…
The Phillies finally got to Teheran in the ninth. Brian Bogusevic also singled up the middle, putting runners on first and second. Rightfielder Todd Cunningham’s throw to the plate was late and Altherr slid home with the tying run. Miller is 0-2 with a 3.46 ERA in five career appearances, four starts, against the Mets.
Adam Morgan (5-7) lost his third straight start after allowing five hits and two runs with three strikeouts in six innings.
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Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin and pitching coach Bob McClure, among others, planned to meet with Aaron Nola on Sunday night – perhaps on the team’s flight to Miami – or during Monday’s off day.
