ATLANTA (AP) — Matt Olson hit a first-inning grand slam, Charlie Morton won his fifth straight start and the major league-leading Atlanta Braves routed the Chicago White Sox 9-0 on Friday night.
Olson, an All-Star first baseman and the NL leader with 30 homers and 76 RBIs, made it 4-0 with his seventh career grand slam and his second this season. Atlanta leads the majors with 170 homers and began the game with 20 more than the No. 2 team, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Braves (61-29) have gone deep in 27 straight games, the longest streak in the franchise’s modern era. Olson’s blast sailed 434 feet to right.
Baseball’s All-Star Game drew a record low in viewers for the second straight year. The National League’s 3-2 win over the American League in Seattle on Tuesday night was seen by 7,006,000 viewers on Fox, down from 7.51 million last year.
Elias Díaz may be the most unlikely All-Star MVP. Just 3 1/2 years after Pittsburgh failed to offer a contract and allowed him to become a free agent, his go-ahead, two-run homer off Félix Bautista in the eighth inning lifted the National League over the American 3-2.
Across baseball, players are embracing practices like barefoot walking and breathing sessions to keep their minds as healthy as their bodies for the long haul of a pressure-packed baseball season.
Shohei Ohtani was the biggest star of the All-Star Game even if his appearance was rather uneventful.
Morton (10-6) gave up three hits, walked one and struck out four in seven innings, lowering his ERA 23 points to 3.20. The 39-year-old right-hander retired the first 10 batters he faced before Tim Anderson singled in the fourth. Luis Robert Jr. promptly grounded into one of three double plays by the White Sox.
Morton has allowed one earned run in his last three starts, a span of 19 innings.
Michael Kopech (3-8) gave up four runs, one hit and four walks in two-thirds of an inning. He had been on the injured list since June 29 with right shoulder inflammation. In his previous five starts, Kopech had a 2.96 ERA, but he threw strikes on just 14 of 38 pitches.
Chicago has lost six of seven, eight of 10 and 19 of 28. The White Sox are 1-8 in their last eight series openers.
Robert was in the lineup after tweaking his right calf in Monday’s Home Run Derby and sitting out the All-Star Game. He went 0 for 3.
Touki Toussaint, facing his former team, pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief before running into trouble in the sixth when he loaded the bases with no outs. He limited the damage to Ozzie Albies’ sacrifice fly that made it 5-0.
Eddie Rosario and Michael Harris II added RBI singles and Albies drilled a two-run double off Bryan Shaw in the seventh for an 9-0 lead.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: 3B Yoán Moncada was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Friday with Triple-A Charlotte. He has been out since June 14 with lower back inflammation.
Braves: LHP A.J. Minter, tied for the major league lead with 44 appearances, is day-to-day after leaving last Saturday’s win at Tampa Bay with tightness in his left pectoral muscle. … LHP Max Fried is set to make his second rehab appearance on Saturday, this time with Class A Rome. The team’s ace has been out since May 6 with a strained left forearm. … RHP Nick Anderson (shoulder strain) was placed on the 60-day injured list and LHP Lucas Luetge’s contract was selected from Triple-A Gwinnett.
STAYING PUT
Chicago manager Pedro Grifol said before the game he is sticking Anderson, the team’s struggling shortstop, in the No. 2 spot in the batting order. The two-time All-Star went 2 for 4 as his average rose four points to .227, but he is still without a homer and has just 13 RBIs in 69 games.
UP NEXT
Braves RHP Spencer Strider (11-2, 3.44 ERA) will face RHP Lance Lynn (5-8, 6.03) on Saturday as the teams play the second game of a three-game series. Strider, a first-time All-Star, leads the majors with 166 strikeouts.
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