NEW YORK (AP) — Julio Teheran delivered a final pitch

Daniel Descalso Jersey , watched the shortstop drift back to make a nice catch and walked off the mound clapping his right hand and glove together.After the game, Braves manager Brian Snitker applauded Teheran, too.Teheran looked sharp in his last audition to become part of Atlanta’s playoff rotation, throwing two-hit ball for six innings Thursday night in a 4-1 loss to the New York Mets.“That’s the way I wanted to finish the regular season,” Teheran said.The NL East champion Braves didn’t start first baseman Freddie Freeman and center fielder Ender Inciarte, and they were minus injured shortstop Dansby Swanson for the second straight game.Teheran (9-9) allowed one run, struck out five and walked two, and trailed 1-0 when he exited. The start came exactly a week before the Braves are set to begin the postseason against the NL West champs, either Colorado or the Los Angeles Dodgers.In the race for home-field advantage in that matchup, Atlanta and Colorado are 89-70 and the Dodgers are 88-71; the Braves don’t own either tiebreaker, having lost the head-to-head season series against both clubs.Teheran won just one of his last 10 outings, but Snitker observed, “he’s pitched better than this record.”Plus this: Opponents hit only .196 against him, besting Greg Maddux (.197 in 1995) for the lowest mark in franchise history, the Braves said. All-Star Mike Foltynewicz could top him — he’s at .198 going into Friday night’s start at Philadelphia.The 27-year-old Teheran started for the Braves the previous time they made the playoffs in 2013 and has long been a key piece of their staff, but his place this October is uncertain. He’s been inconsistent at times, albeit more steady down the stretch.Snitker hasn’t said who will pitch in the playoffs. Foltynewicz Ketel Marte Jersey , Kevin Gausman and Anibal Sanchez are considered likely to lock down the first three starts in the best-of-five NL Division Series, perhaps leaving Teheran and Sean Newcomb and maybe even rookie Touki Toussaint to compete for the fourth spot.“I got in the back of my mind what I’m thinking,” Snitker said, without revealing any details.“This isn’t tryout camp,” he said, adding, “I think the total body of work speaks for itself.”Teheran gave up a leadoff double to Brandon Nimmo in the first and a home run to Kevin Plawecki in the third.Pinch-hitter Devin Mesoraco connected for a three-run homer off Brad Brach in the seventh that made it 4-0.Ronald Acuna Jr. hit an RBI single in the eighth.The Braves beat New York in the opener of this three-game series for their sixth straight win. But Mets starters Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Jason Vargas combined for 21 scoreless innings in the set, and New York finished 6-13 against Atlanta this year.Vargas (7-9) needed just 77 pitches for seven shutout innings in his best start of the year.“Good job,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “He finished the season strong for us.”Vargas gave up three hits, walked none and struck out six, pitching in light rain in the later innings. The 35-year-old lefty tied for the major league lead with 18 wins last season with Kansas City but struggled early after signing a $16 million, two-year deal with the Mets.Vargas went 5-1 with a 2.62 ERA in his last eight starts.Robert Gsellman worked the ninth for his 13th save. He struck out Freeman with two on to end it.WRIGHT YOU AREMets third baseman David Wright didn’t play despite scattered chants of “We want David!” Activated this week, he hasn’t played in the majors since May 2016 because of neck, back and shoulder injuries. The Mets have planned for him to start Saturday night at Citi Field against Miami.The 35-year-old team captain left a spirited reminder of his days in the clubhouse before the game. A bottle of tequila was put in each teammate’s locker, with his No. 5 and the message, “Thanks for the memories.”TRAINER’S ROOMBraves: No update on Swanson http://www.diamondbacksfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-greinke-jersey , diagnosed this week with a partially torn ligament in his left hand. A progress report is possible over the weekend. Swanson’s status remains uncertain for Atlanta’s playoff opener next Thursday. Charlie Culberson again took Swanson’s place.UP NEXTBraves: Foltynewicz (12-10, 2.88 ERA) pitches at Citizens Bank Park to open the final series of the regular season. Last Saturday, he took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning against the Phillies in the division clincher.Mets: RHP Corey Oswalt (3-3, 6.08) starts at home vs. RHP Jose Urena (8-12, 4.07) and the Marlins. ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Marwin Gonzalez was at his best again, homering for the eighth time this month. Justin Verlander didn’t have his best stuff, but he did just enough.Gonzalez and Verlander proved to be a winning combination as they led the Houston Astros to an 8-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.Gonzalez hit a solo home run to left-center field off reliever Williams Jerez to lead off the four-run eighth inning. Gonzalez has 14 home runs this season, including eight in August. The Astros had been clinging to a one-run lead before he opened the eighth with that homer.“Marwin is a great player,” teammate Jose Altuve said. “He did it last year. He’s been doing it a long time. Sometimes, people get surprised by what he does. Not me, because I’ve seen him play this good.”The Astros (79-50) are in first place in the AL West and have won four consecutive games and five of their last six. They’re the best road team in baseball, improving to 17-5 in California. The Astros are 6-2 against the Angels this season. The Angels have lost five consecutive games.Verlander allowed three runs in six innings, but he was staked to an early 3-0 lead and the offense picked him up.“Awesome. Those guys backed me up today,” Verlander said. “Today was a battle for me physically. Didn’t feel great for whatever reason. One of those games you take pride in battling, knowing I didn’t have anywhere near my best stuff.”Altuve was hit in the elbow by a fastball from Justin Anderson in the seventh, but remained in the game. Ohtani was then hit in the backside by Roberto Osuna in the eighth and both benches were warned. Deck McGuire hit Yuli Gurriel in the leg in the ninth inning and was ejected. Angels manager Mike Scioscia was also ejected.“I would like to think the pitch was not on purpose. I’m not sure about that http://www.diamondbacksfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-greinke-jersey ,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “We hit their guy. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose. It’s part of baseball. It happens.”McGuire said there was no intent behind his pitch, either.“I was just trying to go in … to a guy who likes to dive over the plate and I missed down the middle, and I’m just trying to make sure it didn’t happen again,” McGuire said. “It’s unfortunate in that situation that (bench) warnings had been issued because there was no intent on my part.”Verlander (13-8) had thrown 26 consecutive scoreless innings against the Angels this season before Shohei Ohtani homered against him in the fourth inning on the first pitch of the at-bat. It was Ohtani’s 14th home run of the season, eight shy of his career best in Japan in 2016.Verlander allowed six hits and struck out six and walked two. He was grooving until the fourth when Ohtani hit a two-run homer to center field. Andrelton Simmons hit a run-scoring triple off Verlander in the sixth.Ohtani was caught stealing for the first time this season. He was thrown out at third by catcher and friend Martin Maldonado, who was traded by the Angels in July. Maldonado was smiling plenty afterward.Jaime Barria (8-8) had a rough outing, lasting just three innings after he gave up four runs on five hits. It was his shortest outing since he threw just two innings in a loss against San Francisco on April 22.CHECK PLEASEOne day after showing off a million-dollar receipt for being a “Dodger killer” for his lunch from The Beverly Hills Hotel on Friday, Verlander revealed that his meal was comped. The hotel jokingly charged him an extra $1 million since Houston beat the Dodgers to win the World Series last year. The receipt went viral, for many things, including how expensive the items were, like the $30 pancakes, $42 chicken salad and $10 cranberry juice.“The manager came over and we ended up laughing about it,” Verlander said. “They actually ended up comping the meal. Everyone was talking about how expensive the pancakes were and the salad. It was comped. It worked out well for both sides.”TRAINER’S ROOMAstros: OF George Springer (quadriceps) is expected to get an at-bat Saturday or Sunday. A decision will be made by Monday whether he will go on the disabled list or not. He has missed five consecutive games. … INF Gonzalez (sore knee) is still in the lineup but experiencing some soreness.Angels: RHP/DH Ohtani (strained right elbow) threw a 21-pitch bullpen session on Saturday. He is scheduled to throw a simulated game next week. … LHP Tyler Skaggs (left adductor strain) played catch again Saturday. … C Rene Rivera (bee sting) was stung on his arm during Friday’s game when he threw a ball back to the mound. He stayed in the game.UP NEXTAstros: LHP Framber Valdez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his first career start and second appearance. He threw 4 1/3 innings in relief in his Major League debut Tuesday, allowing one unearned run on two hits and struck out four.Angels: RHP Felix Pena (1-3, 4.53) struck out 12 in his last start but gave up four earned runs in six innings in the Angels’ 5-4 loss in Arizona on Tuesday.