Charlie Morton Makes Second Start of Spring at Home Against Pittsburgh
The Atlanta Braves are giving you an interesting contrast in today's doubleheader.
With the first game being the 'Spring Breakout' prospect game (streaming for free here on Braves Today!), it'll be seven innings of youth and the future, with some of the organization's most promising prospects taking the field against the star-studded farm system of the Boston Red Sox.
So naturally, the best way to follow that up is with the organization's oldest player, 40-year-old Charlie Morton, taking the mound as the scheduled starter for the nightcap. Unlike most Spring Breakout configurations, this is not against the same team, with Atlanta hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates in North Port's CoolToday Park instead of sending the major league roster with the prospects to Ft. Myers.
Here's how the Braves will line up behind the veteran Morton:
CF Michael Harris II
2B Ozzie Albies
3B Austin Riley
1B Matt Olson
DH Marcell Ozuna
C Travis d'Arnaud
SS Orlando Arcia
LF Jarred Kelenic
RF Forrest Wall
With the exception of Wall in for Ronald Acuña Jr, it's a mostly MLB lineup for the Braves. New free agent signee Adam Duvall, who signed a one-year contract on Thursday, has reported to the team but is not expected to be in the lineup until Sunday at the earliest.
Morton's making his second appearance of spring, having pitched 2.2 scoreless innings last week with three strikeouts and two walks.
Here's how the Pirates will line up:
DH Joshua Palacios
3B Nick Gonzalez
1B Billy McKinney
CF Jack Suwinski
C Carter Bins
RF Jake Lamb
SS Tsung-Che Cheng
LF Joe Perez
2B Termarr Johnson
Starting for Pittsburgh is righty Jared Jones, making his fifth appearance (second start) of spring. He's not allowed an earned run in his 7.1 innings of Grapefruit League work, striking out eight and walking four. He's given up six hits and seen two unearned runs score.
How to Watch the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, March 16th
First pitch from CoolToday Park is slated for 6:05 PM ET. The broadcast is available on MLB.com for subscribers to MLB.tv, with a radio call available on 680AM/93.7 FM The Fan.
