Braves News: Charlie Morton Placed on 15-Day IL, Braves reach 100 wins, more

Sunday was a busy day for the Braves, both in expected and unexpected ways. For one, after the weather postponed their game against the Nationals on Saturday, the Braves played a double header, splitting the games in a 3-2 loss in Game 1 and a 8-5 win in Game 2. In the process, the Braves reached 100 wins for the second straight season. However, the biggest news of the day was not as positive.

The Braves placed Charlie Morton on the 15-day on Sunday after his early exit on Friday night due to discomfort in his right index finger. In a corresponding move, Allan Winans pitched Game 1 of the double header. Beyond the injury itself, the other development is that this injury will make Morton unavailable for the NLDS. While the Braves do feel Morton could return this season, it will not be until the NLCS if the Braves were to make it that far.

As a result, the Braves continue to have more questions emerge about their pitching staff heading into the postseason. The hope is that time will allow for Max Fried to overcome his blister issue and that plenty of rest until the Braves first playoff game a few weeks from now will make the bullpen as crisp as possible. The recent injury news also could mean bigger roles for Bryce Elder and Kyle Wright in the NLDS.

Braves News:

• More history for the Braves and their players occurred on Sunday, as Matt Olson now as more RBIs than any Braves in a season since they moved to Atlanta in 1966.
• A fun and interesting development has occurred in Gwinnett in September, as former utility player Charlie Culbertson is now focused on pitching for his baseball career.
• Brad Rowland and Scott Coleman discuss all the happenings from Sunday and the week on the latest episode of the Battery Power Podcast.

MLB NEWS:

• With both the Dodgers and Orioles winning on Sunday, the Braves remain 3 ¹⁄₂ games above the Dodgers in the “best record in NL” standings and 3 games above the Orioles in the “best record in baseball” standings. If the Braves remain above both teams, they will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
• The Rangers used six home runs to get a big win over the Mariners.
• Plenty of storylines will be worth watching over the final week of the season when it comes to the playoff picture of both leagues.
• The Angels announced that Mike Trout’s season was officially over on Sunday. The move had been expected for a while as injuries have limited Trout to just one game since July 3rd.