Braves Win Finale and Series Behind Scoreless Outing from Charlie Morton

The Atlanta Braves got another pitching-dominant victory today, but not necessarily from who we were expecting

tlanta Braves pitcher Charlie Morton (50) pitches the ball against Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Truist Park. / Jordan Godfree-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves rallied late to take down the Oakland Athletics 3-1 to officially win the weekend series in Truist Park.

Here’s what you need to know about from the contest.

Charlie Morton had his stuff (when it wasn’t raining)

The veteran came into today’s start fresh off of his worst outing since 2015 - eight runs allowed on twelve hits in just 5.2 innings against the Washington Nationals to open this homestand. 

Today was a much-needed rebound for Morton. 

Uncle Charlie went six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, a third-inning single to shortstop Max Schuemann. Prior to the rain setting in, which really started coming down during his final inning, Morton had only three walks in the outing but allowed two more as he started to lose his grip of the baseball late. 

Six scoreless from Chuck 🔥#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/WW78URUEjx

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 2, 2024

It’s a welcome sight for Braves fans that saw the 40-year-old put up a 5.06 ERA in May and wondered if Atlanta needed to be more aggressive with pursuing a starter (or multiple) at the trade deadline. 

Morton’s curveball, as usual, was excellent - thrown 41% of the time today, it accounted for eleven of his fifteen whiffs, with five of his six strikeouts coming on the pitch. 

Charlie Morton's 2Ks in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/vbXJBYdGKI

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 2, 2024

Quiet but timely day for the offense

The Braves mustered only seven hits today, but they made them count. The Braves got a first-inning lead after Matt Olson singled in Marcell Ozuna, who walked and then advanced to second on a passed ball. After the Atlanta bullpen gave up a game-tying homer in the 7th, a walk and back-to-back doubles retook the lead for the Braves, with an insurance run being scored by pinch-runner J.P. Martínez (for Marcell Ozuna, who doubled) in the 8th. 

(That was the regular season Braves debut for Martínez, who was called up after Ronald Acuña Jr’s IL placement for his torn ACL and had yet to get into a game.)

Atlanta may have finished with only seven hits (and eight strikeouts), but four of them were doubles and they picked up a two-out RBI.  

Finally, a day off!

With today’s victory, the Braves have finished a stretch of seventeen games in seventeen days and have tomorrow off. They’ll fly to Boston tonight and spend the off-day on the road, a practice that more teams are beginning to embrace because they’re finding the players get more relaxation being away from home and the associated demands on their time that come with families and others getting the players for a rare in-season day at home. 

What’s next for the Atlanta Braves?

The Braves are back in action Tuesday night in Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox, as they return the visit from last month for another two-game series. Max Fried (Tuesday) and Spencer Schwellenbach (Wednesday) are the announced starters for Atlanta, with game times set for 7:10 PM on Tuesday and 1:35 PM on Wednesday.