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Bullpen, defense implode late in Atlanta Braves' home loss to Blue Jays

With Tuesday's error-filled defeat, the Braves (50-40 overall) are now one game behind the Phillies in the NL East standings.

ATLANTA—Julio Teheran certainly deserved a better fate.

The right-handed pitcher, who has endured his share of troubles at SunTrust Park, was sparkling on the mound against the Blue Jays, surrendering just one run and three hits over 6 2/3 strong innings.

And yet, Teheran had no direct role in shaping the outcome. Upon exiting with two outs in the seventh inning, the Atlanta Braves were embroiled in a 1-all tie and seemingly primed for a long defensive battle.

A few minutes later, though, all heck would break loose, with Atlanta's defense and bullpen buckling under the weight of a pressure-filled frame, allowing five runs in the 8th and eventually ceding a 6-2 loss to Toronto (42-48).

With the defeat, the Braves (50-40 overall) are one full game behind the Phillies (51-39) in the National League East standings—the club's largest divisional deficit since May 1.

About that disastrous eighth inning ... things went from bad to worse during this interminably long sequence:

**Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson booted Yangervis Solarte's ground ball, allowing the leadoff hitter to get on base.

**A botched pickoff move from reliever A.J. Minter paved the way for Jays pinch-runner Lourdes Gurriel to advance to second base. He would score moments later, after Russell Martin laced an RBI single to left field.

**Randal Grichuk then stole third base on the aforementioned Minter.

**Kevin Pillar produced an RBI single to right field, scoring Grichuk.

**Shane Carle didn't fare much better for the Braves. Upon entering the game, he promptly yielded a two-run double to shortstop Aledmys Diaz.

**Devon Travis then connected on a ground-rule double over Ronald Acuna Jr.'s head in left field, bringing home the sixth Toronto run. At the end of the carnage, the Braves' three errors mightily contributed to a close-knit affair that got of hand quickly.

As such, Teheran's superb outing will serve as a forgotten footnote with box scores and Baseball Reference. For the third time in five starts, the Colombian native has given up one or zero runs.

Unfortunately, Teheran owns a cumulative ERA of 4.13 during that span, the result of getting rocked for five-plus runs twice since June 23.

The Braves offense, in turn, could muster just two runs from their eight hits.

The All-Star duo of Ozzie Albies (three hits, one steal) and Nick Markakis were the two players to generate multiple hits; and from a rally standpoint, Atlanta only sent five players to the plate twice, with both frames ending on a strikeout.

The main takeaway, moving forward? The Braves cannot let Tuesday's shaky defeat snowball into a week of sloppy play.

With only four games left until the All-Star Break, Atlanta must hold its ground through the weekend, given how 10 National League teams hold sincere hopes of claiming the five playoff slots.

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