PHILADELPHIA — In his first postseason start since suffering a fractured foot last October, Atlanta Braves right-hander Charlie Morton had to leave Game 4 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies after taking a line drive off his pitching elbow in the second inning.
Morton, 38, finished the inning after giving up a three-run homer to Brandon Marsh, but couldn’t continue after warming up for the third. He was replaced by Collin McHugh, who promptly gave up an inside-the-park home run to Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Morton wasn’t fooling the Phillies, getting in trouble in both of his innings. He got hit squarely in the elbow by an Alec Bohm lightly hit line drive to lead off the second. Three batters later, Marsh hit his blast, giving the Phillies a 3-0 lead.
One inning later, Realmuto hit one to deep center field as the ball bounced off the wall toward right, escaping rookie Michael Harris. Realmuto motored around the bases for his third career inside-the-park home run. Realmuto is the first catcher in MLB postseason history to hit an inside-the-park homer and the first Phillies player to hit a postseason inside-the-park home run.