PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 30: Manager Brian Snitker of the Atlanta Braves #43 looks on during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on March 30, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
Charlie Morton Braves seek yet another bounceback series win over Oakland.
Charlie Morton could use a bounceback. The Braves could use a series win.
On Sunday afternoon, the Braves will get a chance to do something they’ve failed to achieve over the last week-plus: win a series against a subpar team. They failed to do so against the Pirates, and then dropped three of four to the Nationals. They had a great chance and offensively, did everything they could, to take the series against Oakland yesterday, but couldn’t manage to do so due to Chris Sale’s awful day and the fact that despite out-xwOBAing the Athletics by about .130, they still lost a two-run game, becoming the first team this season to hit eight or more barrels and lose.
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To secure the win, the Braves will be relying on Charlie Morton to have something resembling a bounceback start, or really, a start where he isn’t plagued with the same “not winning baseball games” thing that’s afflicted the team recently. In his last outing, Morton had a 7/2 K/BB ratio against the Nationals, good for a 2.97 xFIP. But, he also gave up a homer (4.03) FIP, and more saliently to the Braves’ fortunes, got BABIPed like he owed the Baseball Gods money (.611 BABIP-against), leading to him getting charged with eight runs in 5 2⁄3 innings, and a blowout loss.
After a very nice stretch of five starts from mid-April to mid-May where he never walked more than two in a game and had a combined 30/7 K/BB ratio, Morton’s control has wavered a fair bit recently. He had a 4/3 K/BB ratio in just three innings against the Cubs on May 15 in what was his worst start of the year so far, a bounceback 8/4 K/BB ratio against those same Cubbies one start later, and then his BABIP-marred affair against the Nationals. Morton’s overall line of a 105 ERA-, 101 FIP-, and 95 xFIP- is just
fine, very typical mid-rotation starter-ness, but the Braves seemingly find themselves less in need of “just fine” and more in need of “almost everything needs to go perfect to win because if it doesn’t, it’ll somehow be contorted into us losing.” So, here’s hoping that Morton reins in the free passes and has a good outing… or if he doesn’t, that at least the Baseball Gods give him a pat on the head for enduring what he did in his last start.
