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Morton to make debut when Braves face Angels

Jun 14, 2008 - 1:50 PM Atlanta (33-35) at LA Angels (41-27) 9:05 p.m. EDT

ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- The pitching-starved Atlanta Braves will give a prospect his first taste of the major leagues when they visit the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in an interleague matchup on Saturday.

Thought to be one of the deeper teams in terms of starting pitching prior to this season, the Braves will use their ninth different starter already this season when they send rookie Charlie Morton to the mound.

Atlanta has been besieged by injuries to its staff this season, with veterans Tom Glavine, Mike Hampton and John Smoltz all due to miss significant time.

Relievers Rafael Soriano, Peter Moylan and Mike Gonzalez, who the Braves were counting on to anchor the back of the bullpen, have combined for just 16 appearances and four saves this season.

Morton burst onto the scene as a solid prospect this season at Class AAA Richmond, compiling a 5-2 record with a 2.05 ERA in 13 games - 12 starts - while limiting opponents to a .181 batting average and striking out 72 batters in 79 innings.

He worked mostly as a reliever at Class AA Mississippi in 2007, going 4-6 with a 4.29 ERA, before a standout turn in the Arizona Fall League.

Atlanta, which owns the worst road record in the majors at 8-24, won the series opener, 5-2, on Friday despite being without third baseman Chipper Jones, who fouled a ball off his eye in batting practice. X-rays were negative and he is expected to be back in the lineup on Saturday.

The Angels will hand the ball to righthander Ervin Santana (8-2, 3.01 ERA) on Saturday. The 25-year-old has allowed two runs in each of his last three starts, going 2-0 over that pan.

He is 5-4 with a 4.22 ERA in 12 career interleague starts, including a loss against the Dodgers on May 17 in which he allowed four runs in six innings - one of just two times this season that he has allowed more than three runs in an outing.