{"id":78436,"date":"2024-06-29T15:49:29","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T19:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=78436"},"modified":"2024-06-29T15:49:29","modified_gmt":"2024-06-29T19:49:29","slug":"braves-charlie-morton-historic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/29\/braves-charlie-morton-historic\/","title":{"rendered":"Braves Right-Hander Stabilizing Rotation and Making History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Atlanta Braves may be without ace <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stridsp01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spencer Strider<\/a>, but veteran right-hander <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=mortoch02,mortoch01&amp;search=Charlie+Morton&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Charlie Morton<\/a> has stabilized the Braves rotation in historic fashion. While he isn\u2019t going to be an All-Star and he won\u2019t win a Cy Young,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Morton<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has been dominant. The 40-year-old right-hander has stepped up when Atlanta has needed him the most and is making history along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Friday, Charlie Morton made history, earning the win against his former team and becoming the 22nd pitcher in history to beat all 30 teams. The only other active pitchers to reach the milestone are <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/scherma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Max Scherzer<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and former teammates <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/colege01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gerrit Cole<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/verlaju01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justin Verlander<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">With tonight\u2019s win, Charlie Morton has beat all 30 major league clubs over the course of his 17-year career.<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BravesCountry?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#BravesCountry<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HfUgPmFMi2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/HfUgPmFMi2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Atlanta Braves (@Braves) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Braves\/status\/1806871073205465543?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Morton gained the early lead courtesy of an <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rileyau01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Austin Riley<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> homer and held it over 6 \u2153 scoreless innings. He took a no-hit bid into the fifth inning before <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hayeske01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> broke it up by singling to center field. This was Morton&#8217;s third outing this season without surrendering a run over at least six frames. Hall of Famers <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/spahnwa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Warren Spahn<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/n\/niekrph01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Phil Niekro<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are the only Braves pitchers aged 40 or older with more in a single season.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Charlie Morton Stabilizing Braves Rotation in Historic Fashion<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With a 3.89 ERA, the two-time All-Star hasn&#8217;t pitched to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/28\/chris-sale-dominant-resurgent-season\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">same elite level<\/a> that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/salech01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Sale<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/friedma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Max Fried<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lopezre01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-29_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reynaldo L\u00f3pez<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have this year. But Morton has pitched into the sixth inning in 12 of 15 starts, including each of his first seven starts. The veteran hurler has delivered quality production as Atlanta&#8217;s fourth starter, stabilizing the back half of a thin starting rotation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since losing <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spencer Strider<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/04\/13\/spencer-strider-season-ending-surgery\/\" target=\"_self\">season-ending<\/a> Tommy John surgery in April, Atlanta has seen 11 different starters take the mound. Despite this rotation shuffle, the Braves starting five boasts the fifth-best ERA in the National League. Recently surpassing 2,000 career innings pitched, Morton\u2019s ability to eat innings has helped offset the inconsistencies beyond Atlanta&#8217;s core four. Although Morton has faced his share of injuries since being drafted in 2002, his durability at age 40 remains impressive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He amazes me every time he goes out there,&#8221; Braves manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/snitkbr99.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brian Snitker<\/a> said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to replace Charlie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Morton finished a successful June with a 3.10 ERA, 1.103 WHIP, and 28 punchouts across 29 innings. The 17-year veteran has made 17 postseason starts for 10 playoff teams and won two World Series titles. At 45-35 going into Saturday, the Braves have a 3 1\/2 game lead in the National League Wild Card race. Charlie Morton is scheduled to make his next start at home against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Atlanta Braves may be without ace Spencer Strider, but veteran right-hander Charlie Morton has stabilized the Braves rotation in historic fashion. While he isn\u2019t going to be an All-Star and he won\u2019t win a Cy Young,\u00a0Morton has been dominant. The 40-year-old right-hander has stepped up when Atlanta has needed him the most and is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4975,"featured_media":78465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,1071],"tags":[291,833,198,218,231,336,3820],"class_list":["post-78436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-braves","category-mlb","tag-brian-snitker","tag-charlie-morton","tag-chris-sale","tag-max-fried","tag-pittsburgh-pirates","tag-reynaldo-lopez","tag-spencer-strider"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4975"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}