ANAHEIM -- Charlie Morton¡¯s had his fair share of struggles on the mound recently, but it looks like he took another step in the right direction by allowing just one run on two hits along with seven strikeouts in Sunday¡¯s 3-1 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium.

Morton built on his quality start against San Francisco for his second consecutive solid outing after giving up eight earned runs to Milwaukee on Aug. 8. He crucially got off to a fast start by striking out the side in the first inning, setting the tone for a no-hit bid through four.

¡°I thought in San Francisco and today, my arm was working well,¡± Morton said. ¡°Stuff¡¯s good, starting to see some of the swing and miss that I usually have. ... The past couple, I¡¯ve felt kind of like myself again.¡±

It all came dangerously close to unraveling in the fifth when Morton gave up a leadoff single, then a walk, and another single to load the bases with no outs. Morton hit Angels center fielder Mickey Moniak in the foot with a curveball, bringing in the Halos' first run and trimming the Braves¡¯ lead to one.

But then Morton drew a popup from Michael Stefanic to get the first out of the inning. He got Taylor Ward to ground into a double play, and the Braves escaped the fifth inning with the lead intact.

¡°He¡¯s amazing, that ball¡¯s still coming out pretty good,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°He got in a little bind there and had the wherewithal to get through it. It was awesome.¡±

Angels manager Ron Washington, a former assistant coach for the Braves, tipped his cap to Morton¡¯s start and acknowledged his younger players were fooled at the plate.

¡°I don't think those guys on our club have seen that kind of spin before,¡± Washington said. ¡°And he was spinning. He used his fastball. He was using it in. He was using it up and away, and then he was spinning it. I just don't think they've seen that kind of spin.¡±

Ram¨®n Laureano, whom the Braves acquired at the Trade Deadline, had a big day offensively. His long solo home run in the fourth inning was an important insurance run for his pitchers.

The Braves extended their lead in the NL Wild Card race over the Mets to two games, but it may have come at a cost.

Third baseman Austin Riley left the game after being hit in the hand/wrist area in the first inning. He immediately reacted to it by doubling over and grabbing his hand. Riley stayed in the game and took his base, but was subbed out for Luke Williams in the bottom of the first. Snitker said X-rays and CT scans on Riley came back inconclusive. He will undergo further testing when the Braves arrive in Atlanta on Monday.

¡°I said, [expletive],¡¯¡± Laureano told reporters about his reaction to seeing Riley get hit by the pitch. ¡°I just hope nothing happened, we¡¯ll see what¡¯s going on.¡±

The Braves return home to host the division-leading Phillies on Tuesday for a three-game series, and while Atlanta is seven games behind Philadelphia and in the thick of the Wild Card race, Morton isn¡¯t letting the moment get too far ahead of him. He¡¯d rather focus his energy on his delivery and take everything one pitch at a time.

¡°For me, [every start] is important,¡± Morton said. ¡°There¡¯s a little more energy in the ballpark late in the season, September, when you¡¯re facing a divisional rival or something like that. You can kind of feel that, but I¡¯m not really thinking like that.¡±