Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
At one point, starting pitchers Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado were thought to be the future of the Atlanta Braves rotation, playing together in the minor leagues as well as the majors.
Now, they’ll go against each other when Delgado’s Arizona Diamondbacks visit Teheran’s Braves on Friday in Atlanta.
During the offseason, the Braves traded Delgado and fan favorite Martin Prado to the D-Backs for left fielder Justin Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson, and this will be Delgado and Prado’s return to the city they began their MLB careers in.
“It’s going to be good,” Prado told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. “There’s a lot of people that I know that helped me along the way in my career. I know that it’s going to be good to see them and show them my respect. It’s emotional, but I think this is something different in my career, and I’m looking forward to playing against my ex-teammates and having a good series.”
The Braves will look for a good series as well, beginning with the retirement of Chipper Jones‘ No. 10 jersey before Friday’s game and hopefully finishing with their first series victory since they took two of three from the San Francisco Giants June 14-16.
To win the opener of the three-game set, Teheran will need to continue his recent roll, which has seen him post quality start after quality start, with the exception of a 7-6 loss to the San Diego Padres on June 10, when he allowed five runs on six hits — including two home runs.
Delgado, meanwhile, will make just his third start of the season as he tries to earn his first win.
Perhaps Chipper will bring some of his magic back to Turner Field, causing the entire Braves team to lift its game.
Josh McKinney is an Atlanta Braves writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @SuperJMac32, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
