ATLANTA -- Though the eyes might have been fatigued, there was still a genuine sense of excitement felt in the Braves’ clubhouse after
Teheran’s six scoreless innings combated the strong effort by Yamamoto, who surrendered just two hits over six shutout frames against the potent offense that has helped the Braves gain a 6 1/2-game lead in the National League East standings.\n\nThe Braves have gone 9-1 against the Marlins and a combined 12-12 versus their other NL East opponents. The third-place Nationals have experienced similar success, going 10-3 against Miami and 15-14 versus other division rivals. But the Phillies have seemingly squandered opportunities while losing seven of 13 to the last-place Marlins.\n\nTeheran extended his scoreless-innings streak to 18 against Miami this season. He has a 5.89 ERA in the four starts made against other NL East opponents.\n\n“I saw a little more aggression out of Julio,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It was crisper, and it played.”
While a homer-happy offense has bolstered the Braves’ bid to defend their division crown, their hope to win a postseason series for the first time since 2001 will be most significantly influenced by their attempt to upgrade their pitching staff before the July 31 Trade Deadline.\n\nThough the Braves signed