ATLANTA — Charlie Morton is well aware the past month hasn’t been anything special for the Atlanta Braves, but the veteran pitcher doesn’t believe those results are necessarily an indication of where the season is headed for the talent-laden team.
Sunday afternoon at Truist Park, the 40-year-old right-hander and his teammates were able to move forward a bit.
Atlanta catcher Sean Murphy drove in the go-ahead run with a bloop double in the seventh inning, and the Braves limited the Oakland Athletics to two hits in a 3-1 win to take two of three games in the weekend series and finish a 3-4 homestand.
Morton allowed one hit and struck out six batters in six scoreless innings, but he ended up with a no-decision when the A’s tied the game in the top of the seventh on a home run by Zack Gelof. In the bottom half, Murphy’s double down the right-field line drove in Adam Duvall for a 2-1 lead, and Ozzie Albies added an RBI single in the eighth.
The Braves went 13-14 in May and have split their first two games of June, but Morton — who had taken losses in two of his past three starts before Sunday, with the Braves losing the other without him getting a decision — has some long-range perspective regarding the six-time National League East Division champions.
“We don’t feel like everything is clicking,” Morton said. “I’ve been on teams where I’ve sensed we were in trouble. I don’t feel like that’s a room that’s going to allow that to happen. The quality of people in there is just too good.”
Atlanta had seven players selected for last year’s MLB All-Star Game, and while two of those are already out with season-ending injuries — right-handed pitcher Spencer Strider and right fielder and leadoff hitter Ronald Acuña Jr. — the Braves’ struggles at the plate have been surprising a year after they led the majors in most offensive categories and hit a record-tying 307 home runs.
“I look at it individually and see some positives offensively with guys, which is what we’ve been trying to do,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We’ve been playing good baseball. We just haven’t hit, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel for a bunch of guys.”
Morton walked five batters and put another on base when he hit Tyler Soderstrom with a pitch, but he never allowed an Oakland runner to reach third.
“I had really good command of the zone, for the most part,” Morton said. “If you are not giving up a ton of hard-hit balls, you can afford to try to make pitches. That’s basically what we did today.”
AP photo by John Bazemore / Atlanta Braves starter Charlie Morton pitches during Sunday’s game against the Oakland Athletics. Morton allowed one hit in six scoreless innings, although he walked five batters and hit another.Oakland right-hander Luis Medina was stellar in his first start of the season for the A’s, lasting 5 2/3 innings and permitting just two hits and an unearned run while striking out six batters and walking two. Medina began the season on the injured list with a sprained right knee. He made three minor league appearances before starting Sunday.
“It was a great outing for Medina,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “Really going out for the first time, and to be able to command his pitches, he looked great out there. He looked comfortable. We thought he would go four innings or so, but for him to get into the sixth and execute the game plan, it was really nice to see.”
Dylan Lee replaced Morton in the seventh and allowed a long home run to the first batter he faced as Gelof got his fourth of the season, but Joe Jiménez and Raisel Iglesias each pitched a scoreless inning to wrap up the victory. Lee (2-1) picked up the win and Iglesias earned his 15th save of the year.
Murphy’s shallow fly in the seventh landed just fair between right fielder Seth Brown, first baseman J.D. Davis and Gelof, the second baseman. Duvall scored from third on the play. Murphy had been 2-for-18 since returning from the injured list, a stint that began in late March when he got hurt in the season opener.
Atlanta designated hitter Marcell Ozuna doubled during a 1-for-3 day, but before that he reached base for the 26th consecutive game. Ozuna drew a two-out walk in the first inning, moved over to second on a passed ball and scored on a single by Matt Olson.
After the game, Atlanta optioned catcher Chadwick Tromp to Triple-A Gwinnett.
The Braves are off Monday before playing a two-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The scheduled starting pitchers for Tuesday’s matchup are Atlanta left-hander Max Fried (5-2, 2.97) and Boston right-hander Kutter Crawford (2-4, 3.29).