Morton is coming off of his shortest start of the season.
The two best players in Major League Baseball will square off Monday night when the Atlanta Braves begin a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. Ronald Acuña Jr. continues to rewrite the record books and appears to be on his way to his first MVP Award. Shohei Ohtani isn’t scheduled to pitch in the series, but leads the majors in home runs and will be one of the most sought after free agents in league history this winter.
Charlie Morton will get the start for the Braves Monday and will be looking to bounce back from his shortest outing of the season. Morton began July allowing one run over a three-start stretch, but has surrendered eight runs combined over his last 9 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs and a season-high five walks in just 3 2/3 innings in his last start against the Red Sox. Morton recorded just one strikeout in that appearance and has just 20 in 28 1/3 innings in July.
The Angels will go with right-hander Griffin Canning in the opener Monday. He will bring a 4.46 ERA and a 4.61 FIP in 84 2/3 innings into the start. His strikeouts are up and he has done a better job of keeping the ball on the ground this season. Canning allowed seven hits and two runs over five innings in his last start against the Tigers.
The Braves scored two more runs in the first inning in Sunday’s win over the Brewers giving them 109 for the season. The franchise record for first inning runs is 127 set by the 1999 club. The major league record is 147 by the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals.
Matt Olson homered twice in Sunday’s win giving him 35 for the season. That is one more than he had all of last season in his Atlanta debut. Olson leads the National League in homers and trails only Ohtani, who leads the majors with 39. Olson also leads the majors with 89 RBI.
Acuña was 7-for-11 with a homer, five runs scored and three stolen bases in the sweep over Milwaukee. He leads the majors with 51 stolen bases. Michael Harris extended his hitting streak to 12-straight games, which is currently the longest in the majors. Harris had a 15-game hitting streak last season.
First pitch Monday is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. ET and can be seen on Bally Sports South.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Monday, July 31, 7:20 p.m. ET
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: Bally Sports South
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan