HOUSTON — Atlanta Braves pitcher Charlie Morton is done for the World Series after leaving with a broken right calf bone in the third inning of the opener Tuesday night.
With the Braves leading 5-0, Morton came up hobbling on the mound after striking out Jose Altuve on a 2-2 curveball to begin the bottom of the third. The right-hander grabbed at his leg and was replaced by lefty reliever A.J. Minter, who was given as much time as he needed to warm up.
Morton was hit on the leg by Yuli Gurriel’s grounder leading off the second inning but remained in the game. Morton completed the inning and started the third, but by then the leg began to swell.
Atlanta said during the fifth inning that X-rays showed a fractured right fibula. The team said he is expected to be ready for spring training.
Minter gave up a double to his first batter, Michael Brantley, but retired Alex Bregman on a grounder and struck out AL Championship Series MVP Yordan Alvarez to keep Houston off the scoreboard.
Morton is a 37-year-old right-hander who pitched the final four innings and got the win for Houston in its Game 7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series.
Morton threw 44 pitches and allowed one hit, Brantley’s one-out single in the first, with two walks and three strikeouts.