Braves Preview: Atlanta sends Morton to the mound against the Diamondbacks
By Eric Cole
Coming off a pretty embarrassing series against the woefully bad Oakland Athletics where they were lucky to get the one win they got, the Atlanta Braves are coming off a needed off day and will being a three game series against the Diamondbacks with Charlie Morton getting the first crack at them.
Much has been made of the Braves' injuries in their rotation. However, despite those losses, the Braves pitching staff hasn't been the problem as the offense has been the main culprit. Ronald Acuna Jr. has remained busy at the top of the order and Marcell Ozuna was legitimately good in the month of May, but inconsistency from guys like Matt Olson and Austin Riley and others struggling nearly from day one like Michael Harris II has led to some real stinkers on the offensive side of the ball. Arizona's pitching staff is pretty good, so hopefully whatever has been plaguing the Braves' lineup has gotten sorted out.
Braves vs. Diamondbacks Pitching Matchup
For the Braves, Charlie Morton takes the mound and his last few starts have been decidedly uneven. He struck out nine and gave up two earned runs in a little over five innings of work against the Phillies his last time out, but the Dodgers gave him significantly more trouble in his outing before that. There are a few Diamondbacks that have some decent amounts of experience against Charlie, including Ketel Marte who has hit a homer off of him and his having a pretty decent season so far.
For Arizona, they are sending Merrill Kelly who is eighth in the National League in fWAR at 1.5 and sports a 2.82 ERA in 11 starts this season. He is a guy that will walk some batters, so that could present the Braves with some opportunities if they remain patient. Ronald Acuna Jr. has had some success against Kelly in limited plate appearances as he is hitting .429 against him.
How to watch Braves vs. Diamondbacks - 6/2
Date/Time/Location: 6/2/23 at 9:40 PM EST at Chase Field
TV: Bally Sports Southeast
Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan