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Charlie Morton will start Game 1 of the World Series, the Braves announced Sunday afternoon. The Astros will start lefty Framber Valdez.
There was never much of a question that Morton would start Game 1 once the Braves closed out the NLCS on Saturday behind Ian Anderson and the bullpen. Morton was slated to face the Dodgers in an if-necessary Game 7, but now he will get an extra two days of rest before taking on his former team in Houston. Morton spent two excellent seasons with the Astros in 2017-2018.
Morton was outstanding in the regular season with a 3.34 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 10.47 K/9, 2.81 BB/9 and 4.6 WAR across 33 starts and 186 innings.
The Astros will turn to Framber Valdez to begin the series. Valdez, 27, put together a strong 2021 campaign and was brilliant in Game 5 of the ALCS across eight innings.
Game 1 of the World Series is set for Tuesday, October 26 at 8:09 p.m. ET. It will be televised on FOX.