Morton strikes out 10, Braves roll past Rangers

The Atlanta Braves got back in the win column in a resounding fashion on Monday night, blowing out the Texas Rangers in a 12-0 win.

Atlanta moves to 26-15 on the season while Texas falls to 25-16.

After a scoreless first inning, the Braves got on the board in the 2nd with Kevin Pillar hitting his fifth home run of the season to make it 2-0. He's now hit safely in his last four starts. A few batters later, Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a 454-foot home run to center field to extend the lead to 4-0. Ronald's last seven home runs have gone more than 420 feet.

Atlanta tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning after back to back doubles from Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies to push the lead to 6-0.

As strong as the offense was throughout the night, Charlie Morton was even stronger for the Braves on the mound. The 39-year old right hander threw 6.2 scoreless innings for his first shutout of 2023. It's his first scoreless start since August 3rd of last season. Morton struck out 10 batters in the win, his highest since August 21st of last year, and lowered his ERA on the season to 2.85.

The hits kept coming for Atlanta throughout the night, with Orlando Arcia hitting a 422-foot home run off the 2nd deck to add two more runs to the Braves lead. Arcia ended the night 2-2 at the plate with two walks, raising his season batting average to .333, and OPS to .946.

Austin Riley continued to emerge from his May slump by extending his hitting streak to three games, and hitting his first home run of the month: a 397-foot shot to right center to run Atlanta's lead to 10-0 over Texas.

Just for good measure, Marcell Ozuna hit his eighth home run of the season in the ninth inning to end the night. A two-run home run to end the scoring at 12-0.

The Braves will look to clinch the series on Tuesday night, with game two of the series in Arlington slated for a 8:05 p.m. ET first pitch. Dane Dunning is scheduled to pitch for the Rangers, while the Braves haven't announced a starter yet.