Julio Teheran knew what he needed to do as soon as he stepped on the mound on Thursday night. Just a day before, the best member of the Atlanta Braves suffered a season-changing injury under auspicious circumstances, a member of the Toronto Blue Jays allegedly uttered a homophobic slur, and another Blue Jay flipped his bat at an inappropriate time. Something needed to be done about the Canadian menace and Teheran had to be the one to do it.
Teheran throws the pitch
Only one batter had stepped up to the plate when Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista stepped into the batter's box in the top of the first inning.
On the second pitch of the at bat, Teheran seemingly tried to go inside with a pitch. He missed his target, though - or maybe he didn't. The 96 MPH fastball drilled Bautista above the knee, leading to some happy Braves fans believing retribution had been served at SunTrust Park.
The umpires immediately issued warnings to both the Blue Jays and Braves, cognizant of the events that had unfolded the previous night. Nothing else would be tolerated from the two teams in the form of baseball's unwritten rules on Thursday night. Ultimately, however, the Blue Jays would get the last laugh on Thursday. Teheran would leave the game after three rainy innings having surrendered a horrendous nine runs to the Blue Jays, including three home runs, continuing a disappointing season for the starter.
Backstory for the Braves
Wednesday night was the basis for the hit-by-pitch suffered at the hands of Teheran on Thursday night. To some, the event that put everything in motion was a pitch from a Blue Jays relief pitcher that hit first baseman Freddie Freeman, shattering his wrist. While it's unclear if that pitch was intentional or not, it will sideline the Braves superstar anywhere from eight to ten weeks by most projections.
Other members of the Braves were likely turned off by Jose Bautista's bat flip following a home run, despite his team trailing. Bautista has a well-known history of infamous bat flips, something relief pitcher Eric O'Flaherty brought up in the aftermath of the game. Additionally, there was a strange moment where Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar allegedly muttered a homophobic slur to a Braves player during the game, which the MLB is currently investigating. All in all, there were too many incidents for Teheran to avoid the fray when Thursday night rolled around.
