Seeing the Chicago White Sox in the opposing dugout has been a welcome sight for Atlanta Braves right-hander Charlie Morton.
Morton is 4-0 in four career starts against Chicago, and he will attempt to stay perfect on Monday when visiting Atlanta opens a three-game series with the White Sox.
Chicago has been able to scratch across only seven runs in 24 2/3 innings against Morton, giving him an ERA of 2.55. Morton made one start against the White Sox in 2023, shutting them out through seven innings.
Morton will be hoping to get the run support that the Braves gave their pitchers in the first two games of the season in Philadelphia. Atlanta beat the Phillies 9-3 on Friday, then followed up with a 12-4 drubbing of Philadelphia a day later.
However, the Phillies managed to post a 5-4 win on Sunday in the series finale.
Still, it hasn’t taken long for outfielder Jarred Kelenic to realize just how dangerous the Braves’ lineup is. Kelenic was traded to Atlanta in December after spending three seasons with the Seattle Mariners.
“Hitting is contagious, especially here,” said Kelenic, who is 5-for-7 with his new club. “It’s dangerous up and down the lineup, which is super fun.”
Right-hander Chris Flexen will be tasked with keeping the Braves in check on Monday.
Flexen also spent time with Seattle last year, but the Mariners designated him for assignment before trading him to the New York Mets, who also ended up designating him for assignment. He eventually ended up landing a deal with the Colorado Rockies.
In 29 appearances (16 starts) with Colorado and Seattle last season, Flexen went 2-8 with a 6.86 ERA. He is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four career appearances (one start) against Atlanta.
Morton and Flexen will both be making their season debuts on Monday.
Unlike the Braves, the White Sox were anemic offensively for most of their season-opening series, getting swept by the Detroit Tigers in a three-game set.
Chicago fell 1-0 on Opening Day before showing some life in a 7-6 setback on Saturday, but the bats went quiet once again during Sunday’s 3-2 loss. The White Sox hadn’t been swept in their first series of the season since 2015, when the Kansas City Royals beat them three times.
One of the few bright spots for Chicago has been center fielder Luis Robert Jr.
Robert is 4-for-12 to start the year and finished with two homers and four RBIs during Saturday’s loss. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the series finale, but the White Sox are expecting big things out of Robert this season.
“That guy right there can win MVP, that’s for dang sure,” Chicago shortstop Braden Shewmake said of Robert. “Everybody in here knows that. I think he knows that, too. The greatest part about it is he doesn’t go about his business that way. He’s a great teammate. He’s super fun to be around and he enjoys being in the clubhouse.”
The White Sox faced Atlanta three times in 2023, coming away with a pair of wins.
–Field Level Media