Braves Briefing: Atlanta falls in NL East after first loss, Charlie Morton outlook

The Atlanta Braves offense just couldn't get going in the third and final game of the opening series against the Washington Nationals.

After a rough first inning for Jared Shuster, he settled down and last 4.2 innings for the Braves. Tonight, Charlie Morton takes the mound.

What type of season will be see from Charlie Morton?

Last season, Morton didn't have a normal offseason to prepare due to rehabbing a broken leg, suffered in the 2021 World Series. Could he bounce back to form this season?

Last season, Morton touted a 9-6 record and a 4.34 ERA. In his first season in Atlanta in 2021 the year prior, he carried a 14-6 record and a 3.34 ERA.

He makes his first start of the season tonight.

NL East Standings

After Atlanta's first loss, they have dropped in the NL East pecking order.

NYM 3-1 (Play at Milwaukee)
Atlanta 2-1 (Play at St. Louis)
Washington 1-3 (Play vs Tampa Bay)
Miami 1-3 (Play vs Minnesota)
Philadelphia 0-3 (Plays at NYY)

We wrote it

Braves Today writer Matthew Jacobs covered the action yesterday. He had some fun words on new Braves catcher Sean Murphy:

The brightest spot of the day was the Braves’ new catcher Sean Murphy unleashing his arm and putting the league’s base runners on notice, a lesson learned quickly by the Nationals’ Garcia as he attempted to steal second. Murphy's pop time was reported via statcast at 1.86 seconds, an absolutely elite number.

Here's the full write up.

The Atlanta Braves, fresh off of a series win versus the rebuilding Washington Nationals, face a much tougher test as they open a three-game series against the reigning NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals tonight at 7:45 ET. The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports Southeast, and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.