Charlie Morton allowed a three-run homer to Michael Massey in the first inning, and the Atlanta Braves missed their chance to secure a playoff spot, losing 4-2 to the playoff-bound Kansas City Royals on what was supposed to be the last day of the regular season.
Atlanta will play a doubleheader on Monday against the New York Mets to make up for two games that were canceled last week due to Hurricane Helene affecting the southeastern U.S.
Both Atlanta and the Mets have records of 88-72, while Arizona finished at 89-73. If either the Braves or Mets sweep the doubleheader, the Diamondbacks will make the playoffs.
However, if they split the games, both the Mets and Braves will advance, leaving Arizona out since the Braves and Mets have the tiebreaker advantage over them.
“This whole thing here has been something that I don’t think anybody has ever experienced,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
If Atlanta wins either game on Monday, they will move on to play a Division Series against San Diego. Of the 28 doubleheaders completed in the major leagues this season, 13 ended in sweeps and 15 were split, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Rookie Spencer Schwellenbach will start the first game of the doubleheader, and Chris Sale, who is a top contender for the NL Cy Young Award, is scheduled to pitch the second game.
“That’s about as good as I can feel,” Snitker said. “The ball’s in our court. If we can’t pull one of those off, it’s just one of (those) things.”
If the Braves win the first game, they will likely hold Sale back for Tuesday’s Division Series Game 1.
Before recording an out, Morton gave up a leadoff double to Tommy Pham, followed by a single to Bobby Witt Jr. and Massey’s 14th homer of the season.
“You get to a two-strike count, you feel like the top of the zone is a little bit more open and he just turned and burned on it,” Morton said.
Morton (8-10) gave up all four runs, five hits, and two walks while striking out three in 4 1/3 innings. He also allowed a solo home run to Hunter Renfroe.
The 40-year-old Morton was drafted by the Braves in 2002 and made his major league debut for Atlanta in 2008. In what might be his last game in the majors, he received applause from the crowd when Snitker took him out in the fifth inning.
“I just remember walking off the field having allowed four runs getting pulled in the fifth inning in a game that means a lot to everybody here,” Morton said.
“The fans here have supported me ever since I came back. People have been really kind to me, really supportive when they see me in public, at the stadium.”
Four Braves pitchers combined for 4 1/3 innings without giving up a hit in relief.
“They all just kind of handed the ball off and did exactly what we needed to do, which is give us an opportunity to score and get in the game,” Snitker said.
However, Atlanta went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. Matt Olson got a single and Jorge Soler walked with one out in the eighth, but Ramón Laureano and Sean Murphy both struck out against John Schreiber.
“We had a chance,” Olson said. “Schreiber had a funky arm and made some good pitches. It was a different angle and not stuff you see every day. He made some good pitches. I was on second base looking at a lot of them. Sometimes you have to tip the cap.”
Gio Urshela hit a home run for the Braves. Alec Marsh (9-9) allowed one earned run in five innings to earn the win. Kris Bubic pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his first save.
