Charlie Morton looks to rebound as Braves begin series against the Marlins
The Atlanta Braves return to Truist Park Friday night where they will begin a homestand with a four-game series against the Miami Marlins.
The Braves wrapped up a 4-3 road trip, by winning of their last five games to maintain a slim lead in the top Wild Card spot while also closing to within 6.5 games of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. Charlie Morton open up the homestand for Atlanta Thursday night while the Marlins will counter with right-hander Max Meyer.
Morton will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing in New York and build some consistency for the stretch run. He skated through the first two innings in his last start against the Mets but things unraveled in the third as he was tagged for three homers and seven runs, although only five were earned. He ended up exiting after just 2 2⁄3 innings which is his shortest outing of the season. Morton faced the Marlins back on April 8 and allowed six runs in 5 2⁄3 innings.
Meyer will make his second start for Miami since returning to the major league roster. He allowed three runs in four innings in his first start back last week against the Brewers. Meyer faced the Braves back in mid-April and was sharp, allowing just one run while striking out a season-high seven in six innings. He was sent back to Triple-A shortly after that outing.
Trade deadline addition Jorge Soler is slated to make his home debut for the Braves in Thursday’s game. Atlanta acquired Soler along with receiver Luke Jackson from the San Francisco Giants at the deadline in exchange for Tyler Matzek and infield prospect Sabin Ceballos. Soler was 0-for-3 with a walk in his debut Wednesday in Milwaukee.
The Braves are hoping that Soler can provide a spark for an offense that has been showing signs of life recently. Atlanta homered four times in Wednesday’s win as Matt Olson and Travis d’Arnaud went back-to-back twice. The Braves have now homered 18 times over their last six games and are now seventh in the majors with 133 for the season. Olson, who battled through a deep slump for most of July, has homered four times in his last five games.
First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. ET at Truist Park and can be seen on Bally Sports Southeast.
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