Things were going really well for the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the World Series… right up until Charlie Morton got injured.
On Tuesday, the Braves faced off against the Houston Astros in the first game of the 2021 World Series and early on, things were going great for Atlanta. Not only did Jorge Soler lead off the game with a home run, fans also got free tacos thanks to Ozzie Albies’ steal of second base in the first inning!
The Braves were flying high after the first three innings with a 5-0 lead over the Astros, then disaster struck. In the bottom of the second, starter Morton took a ground ball to his right leg and seemingly was able to shrug it off. Unfortunately, Morton had to be pulled the following inning due to injury, which we later found out was a right fibula fracture and that the Braves’ ace would miss the remainder of the World Series.
Talk about a tough break for Morton and the Braves. Here’s the play from the second inning which caused the injury to occur.
This was the Gurriel comebacker that got Morton's shin in the second inning. My guess is he had to exit because the area swelled over the past inning. pic.twitter.com/NuV4Zm50Yh
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 27, 2021
The wildest part of it all was that Morton stayed in the game for the rest of the second inning then struck out Jose Altuve on a broken leg for his final out of the game in the next inning. In total, Morton made 16 pitches between two innings on that broken leg.
Here's Charlie Morton, with a right fibula fracture, striking out Jose Altuve. 😤#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/lMfOdalnwR
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) October 27, 2021
here's charlie morton just casually striking ppl out on a broken leg…pic.twitter.com/SlnXRI9vXf
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) October 27, 2021
What a gutsy performance from Morton and what a pitch to strike out Altuve! Baseball fans were just as shocked and awed at Morton’s ability to gut out those last few pitches and secure the out for his team.