ATLANTA -- First baseman Freddie Freeman and pitcher Julio Teheran are the only core players left after the Atlanta Braves two-year teardown and rebuild for the future.Freeman has been labeled as untouchable from the start. Teheran has virtually gained the same status.The Braves could sell high on Teheran, but general manager John Coppolella has been adamant recently that the team plans to hold on to the 25-year-old staff ace despite continuing trade rumors.Teheran takes a 23-inning scoreless streak into his start Friday night against the Miami Marlins (41-38) and has a 2.46 ERA. He is second among major league starters with a WHIP of 0.89.When you start looking at All-Star pitchers, he is one, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. The only thing there is his one-loss record and he cant control that with all that goes on. Hes been about as good as you can get.Teheran, given almost no offensive support, is 3-7 and has yet to record a victory at Turner Field. The right-hander is 0-4 in nine home starts despite a 2.80 ERA.The Braves (27-52) have scored two runs or fewer while Teheran was on the mound in 12 of his 16 starts.One of Teherans home losses came against the Marlins, who had lost five straight to the Braves before winning 7-3 on May 29. Atlanta leads the series 7-2 after an 8-5 victory Thursday.Teheran, 5-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 13 career starts against the Marlins, gave up five hits and three runs over 5 1/3 innings in that game, but has been on a roll since.Teherans scoreless stretch, which includes a one-hitter against the New York Mets, is the longest active streak in the National League and the longest by an Atlanta starter in a single season since Paul Maholm went 25 1/3 innings in 2013.The streak comes with the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline just a month away, but Teheran has been able to concentrate only on his work at hand.I dont think about it, but I hear about it because there are a lot of comments, he said of the trade rumors. I just focus on what Ive been doing because this is the best Ive been feeling during my career.The Marlins and Braves were active on the trade front Thursday.Miami, already strong at the back of the bullpen with A.J. Ramos, obtained veteran closer Fernando Rodney from San Diego in exchange for pitching prospect Chris Paddack.Rodney, 39, was 17-for-17 in save opportunities in his first year with the Padres and had a 0.31 ERA in 28 appearances. He is expected to join the Marlins on Friday.Were able to shorten the game, thats for sure, manager Don Mattingly said of Rodneys addition. Weve been able to shorten it, in our minds, already. Now, it just makes it even shorter.Ramos is 24-for-24 in save opportunities this year and has converted a team-record 33 in a row dating back to last season.Right now, until we have a chance to talk to Fernando, theres nothing I want to talk about role-wise publicly, Mattingly said. I think we look at it as we just added a guy who has been rolling this year.The Braves trade was a multi-player deal for prospects that sent veteran right-hander Bud Norris, who was 2-1 with a 2.15 ERA in his last five starts, to the Los Angeles Dodgers.I hate to see Bud go, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker. The Dodgers are getting a hot pitcher.Norris, 31, was 3-7 with a 4.22 ERA in 22 games (10 startes) after being signed as a free agent in the offseason for $2.5 million.The deal leaves the Braves in need of starter for Saturday, with a promotion from Triple-A likely. . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. BAHAMAS BOWLEastern Michigan (7-5, Mid-American Conference) vs. Old Dominion (9-3, Conference USA), Dec. 23, 1 p.m.LOCATION: Nassau, BahamasTOP PLAYERSEastern Michigan: RB Ian Eriksen, 741 yards rushing, 9 touchdowns.Old Dominion: QB David Washington, 2,648 passing yards, 28 touchdowns.NOTABLEEastern Michigan: The Eagles went 2/3 in their last five games, and outscored opponents by a single point this season -- 365-364.Old Dominion: Washington came to Old Dominion as a quarterback, bbecame a wide receiver as a sophomore, then returned to QB.ddddddddddddAST TIMEOld Dominion 38, Eastern Michigan 34. (Sept. 5, 2015)BOWL HISTORYEastern Michigan: First appearance in the Bahamas Bowl, second appearance in a bowl -- the other coming in 1987.Old Dominion: First bowl appearance.---Online:AP College Football website:
www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '
