“I would lean towards Charlie Morton in Game three, just based on the pedigree, the swing and miss that plays up really big in the playoffs.”
That was the answer that our very own Braves insider, reporter, and host of ‘From The Diamond’, Grant McAuley gave when Mike Johnson from The Morning Shift asked him who he would start in game three of a playoff series.
Grant goes on to say “I think if you’ve got Charlie, especially looking the way that he did last night where you know those ten strikeout games are in there you know that stuff 96, 97, and a curveball that’s still one of the elite in all of baseball that would be the x factor for me to give the edge to Morton in game three over Bryce Elder, but I don’t think there’s a wrong choice here. I just feel like in the postseason against those powerful lineups the big stuff can play up big time.”
The last two games the Braves have played make this debate a lot more interesting now. Tuesday night Bryce Elder pitched seven innings of one hit baseball, only giving up three walks, no runs, and striking out three,. Last night, Charlie Morton pitched six innings of scoreless baseball, giving up only four hits, one walk, and striking out 10.
If both Morton and Elder are returning to their early season forms this will be a really tough decision for Brian Snitker, but it will also be a very good problem to have. However, like Grant said, strikeouts are even more valuable in the postseason, so Charlie’s strikeout capability would likely give him the edge over Bryce to start in game three of a postseason series.