ATLANTA (AP) — Charlie Morton allowed a three-run homer to Michael Massey in the first inning and the Atlanta Braves they wasted the opportunity to secure a postseason berth by losing 4-2 on Sunday to the Kansas City Royalswho are heading to the playoffs, on what was supposed to be the last day of the regular season.
Atlanta will have a doubleheader Monday against the New York Mets, a pair of games rained out last week between the National League East rivals when Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern United States.
Atlanta and the Mets are 88-72, and Arizona finished 89-73. If either team gets both wins on Monday, the Diamondbacks will make the playoffs. But if the doubleheader is split, the Mets and Braves advance and Arizona is out because the Braves and Mets have the tiebreaker advantage over the Diamondbacks.
For the Royals, Venezuelan Freddy Fermin 3-1.
For the Braves, Dominican Ramón Laureano was 1 for 4 with one RBI. Venezuelan Orlando Arcia 2-1. Colombian Gio Urshela was 2-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI.
