Morton out for World Series with fractured fibula

Atlanta Braves ace Charlie Morton will miss the rest of the World Series after suffering a fractured right fibula during Game 1 against the Houston Astros, the team announced Tuesday.

He's expected to be ready for spring training.

Morton was struck on the leg by a comebacker off the bat of Yuli Gurriel in the second inning. He initially tried to stay in the game but was removed after striking out Jose Altuve to open the third.

All told, Morton recorded three outs on 16 pitches - including two strikeouts - after suffering the injury. His last fastball touched 96 mph.

Left-hander A.J. Minter replaced Morton with the Braves leading 5-0.

“It's incredible that he even thought of going out there, and I bet you it was so A.J. could have some more time to get ready. He sacrificed himself," Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud said, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. "I don't think he knew it was broken right away, but he knew it was hurting. For him to sacrifice himself to make sure A.J. was ready and for him to strike out Altuve is incredible."

Morton allowed just one hit while issuing a pair of walks over 2 1/3 innings. Entering Tuesday's game, he posted a 3.77 ERA across three postseason starts for Atlanta.

This marks just the third time in World Series history that neither starting pitcher finished three innings in Game 1.