The contrast in ages on the mound will be apparent Wednesday night when the Atlanta Braves host the Colorado Rockies in the second contest of their three-game series.
Colorado will send 23-year-old rookie Bradley Blalock (1-1, 4.98 ERA) to the mound to face Atlanta veteran and fellow right-hander Charlie Morton (7-7, 4.26), a 40-year-old who will make his 378th career start.
The Braves (75-63) opened the series with a 3-0 win on Tuesday, tying the season series against Colorado (51-88) at two victories apiece. Atlanta holds a half-game lead over the New York Mets in the chase for the final wild-card spot in the National League.
The game will be a homecoming for Blalock, who played at Grayson High School in the Atlanta suburbs before being drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2019. He had Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2022 season. Blalock was traded to Milwaukee in 2023 and shipped to Colorado this season before the trade deadline. He is ranked as Colorado’s No. 20 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Blalock will make his fifth start since joining the Rockies. He is coming off a rough start after allowing seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in four innings in a 12-8 loss against the Miami Marlins on Thursday. In his three previous starts, he gave up six runs over 16 2/3 innings, pitching to a 3.25 ERA in that span.
“He’s got the weapons,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “He’s got a good fastball. He’s got the curve and the slider that have become more consistent.”
Morton continues to be a reliable member of the rotation. It’s the seventh straight season, excluding the COVID year, that Morton has made at least 25 starts. He has failed to pitch at least five innings in only three of his 25 outings this season.
In his last appearance on Thursday against Philadelphia, Morton pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with four walks and seven strikeouts. The Braves, however, failed to hold a four-run lead and lost 5-4.
“He was bending, but he wasn’t breaking,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “It was kind of deep counts and making pitches when he needed to. We were flirting with disaster there the whole game, pretty much, and he kept making enough pitches to get himself out of it.”
Morton has 14 career starts against the Rockies, going 6-2 with a 3.81 ERA. He did not face Colorado when the Braves made a three-game stop in Denver last month.
Atlanta’s Raisel Iglesias was named NL Reliever of the Month for August on Tuesday, the third time he’s won the award in his career. The right-hander made 11 appearances and did not allow a run while striking out 14 in 13 1/3 innings with six saves. He did not walk a batter and allowed only two hits.
Iglesias worked a perfect ninth inning Tuesday and earned his 29th save. His career best is 34 saves, which he has accomplished twice, most recently in 2021 with the Los Angeles Angels.
Colorado’s Brenton Doyle was hitless in the series opener, snapping his seven-game hitting streak. Doyle, however, drew a walk to safely reach base in his eighth straight game.
–Field Level Media