Braves Preview: Charlie Morton, Braves looking to build momentum against Marlins
After nearly seeing the franchise's first no hitter (or perfect game for that matter) in almost two decades, the Atlanta Braves hope to back it up with a similar performance in game two. A dominant game one allowed the team to end an uncharacteristic four game losing streak. Miami ran into an offensive and defensive buzzsaw last night and Atlanta looks to start a new winning streak with veteran Charlie Morton leading the way.
Braves-Marlins Pitching Matchup 4/25
Charlie Morton will come into tonight's game sporting a 3.22 ERA in 22.1 innings pitched so far in 2023. Despite his impressive outing last time through the rotation, Charlie has clear areas he can improve on from his first few starts. A 1.61 WHIP certainly won't lead to much success in the long term when considering Morton's standard. Through the 22.1 innings pitched, he has surrendered ten walks and twenty six hits already this year.
On the optimistic side of things, Morton has seemed to limit his damage from home runs in this year's small sample size. Only giving up a homer in half of his starts is definitely something Morton can build off of considering the damage it caused him in 2022. This has allowed the veteran to work six complete innings in his last two starts and will go into tonight with a well rested bullpen thanks to Spencer Strider.
As for the Marlins pitching, they have an interesting scenario in play. "Young" prospect and former seventh round pick, Bryan Hoeing will make his 2023 debut for the fish. Hoeing pitched in eight games in 2022 in his major league debut season but never pitched more than 3 innings and only started in one of the appearances. So far in Triple A Jacksonville this year, Hoeing has been strictly a starter; however, he hasn't eclipsed more than five innings yet. He has pitched well though, sporting a solid 2.08 ERA.
All that to say, it isn't clear on the Marlins plans for Hoeing as of this morningManager Skip Schumaker could be looking for a traditional start just as easily as it could be treated like a bullpen game based on the game's flow. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, especially considering the Braves early inning successes in 2023.
How to watch Braves vs. Marlins
Date/Time/Location: 4/25/23 at 7:20 PM EST at Truist Park
TV: Bally Sports South
Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan