Charlie Morton got his moment.
Starting briefly for Chris Sale in the 2025 season finale, Charlie got into the second inning and struck out Alexander Canario, effectively ending Morton’s career. The Braves stopped the game as Brian Snitker walked out to the mound, shook Charlie’s hand, and called for Sale to come in. The Braves let Morton’s family on the field and had a video ready.
Morton meant a lot to the Braves organization, especially over the last few years, and you could see it on the faces of everyone involved in this one. He was a very good pitcher for for seasons, and he’ll basically always have folk hero status for unknowingly (?) pitching part of a World Series game on a broken leg. It was a sweet way to end a sour season.
Not a lot happened after the beginning of the game, really. Morton had a relatively uneventful first inning before he got one out in the second.
In the bottom of the first, the Braves got their first runs of the game with a two-run blast from Ronald Acuña.
Johan Oviedo wasn’t exactly what I’d say “good”, but Atlanta couldn’t really do anything with him, either. He made it five innings, struck out three, walked three, and gave up the aforementioned home run.
Chris Sale looked very much like you’d expect Chris Sale to look against the Pirates. He dominated the Pirates over nearly six seasons, striking out nine batters, and only giving up a run in the sixth when he ran into a bit of trouble. Otherwise, the Pirates looked pretty hapless.
The Braves added a little more in the bottom of the eighth. Nick Allen (?) double to leadoff the inning, and after a Jurickson Profar strikeout, Matt Olson singled home Allen to make it 3-1. Acuña walked, and then the Braves scored on what should have been an easy double play. Drake Baldwin grounded up the middle, and a poor throw to first slipped away from the first baseman, making it 4-1.
It’s been a weird year for Atlanta. We knew we’d have to wait a little bit for the season to really ramp up. Acuña and Strider were injured, but the team still had the core from the World Series season.
But a seven-game losing streak to the season seemed to portend things to come. Injuries mounted, Profar got suspended, Money Mike was doing whatever is it he was doing for a while, and by the All-Star Break, the Braves’ playoff chances were basically gone.
But Atlanta kept marching on, for good or ill. They didn’t trade away people at the deadline. Drake Baldwin kept matching toward what hopefully is a Rookie of the Year Award. And Atlanta finished the season on a bit of a tear.
It’s the end of the season, but we’ve got a lot more coming to you all as we look forward to 2026. Thanks for a great season!
