Salty game by starter
Solid outing keeps him in discussion for fourth spot
Charlie Morton allows a run on four hits in seven innings.
Maybe the most difficult decision the Astros must make before Game 1 of the American League Division Series pertains to their plan on how to utilize Charlie Morton in the postseason.
Somewhat under the radar, Morton has made a strong case to remain in a starting role. His great outing in the Astros’ 6-2 win over the Angels on Saturday at Minute Maid Park improved his ERA to 3.63 in 1411⁄3 innings this season. His rate of 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings is elite.
But if Brad Peacock makes the Astros’ ALDS rotation as it seems he will, there will be room for only one of Morton, Lance McCullers Jr. and Collin McHugh behind Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel. None of Morton, McCullers or McHugh has meaningful bullpen experience. McCullers is only two months removed from his selection to his first All-Star Game.
Much depends on McCullers, who in Sunday night’s series finale will make his first start since Sept. 6 and only his second since July 30. He should then start one of the Astros’ final regular-season games next weekend in Boston. McHugh will pitch Monday in Arlington. It’s unclear whether he will start again before regular season’s end. ‘Put me in whenever’
Morton is scheduled to pitch once more, next weekend in the four-game series at Fenway Park. Because they clinched their AL West title relatively early, the Astros (95-59) can use the rest of the regular season to gather as much information as possible before making their final postseason roster decisions.
“He’s had a very good season,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of Morton. “The discussion underway is really, ‘What’s the best use of him?’ He could very much make a start in the playoffs. He could be an effective weapon out of the bullpen if we go that route. We really don’t know, and we don’t have to know for a while.”
Morton, an oft-injured 10-year veteran, has started 186 of his 187 major league appearances — including his one postseason start, for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 4 of the 2013 NLDS. The 33-year-old righthander made his lone career relief appearance toward the end of his rookie season in 2008, when he was 24 and a member of the Atlanta Braves.
Morton described the Astros’ postseason rotation numbers crunch as “a good problem to have.”
“I’d like the ball. Whenever,” he said. “Put me in whenever.”
It would be easy to dream of Morton as an October reliever, too, because of his fastball that even in September has hit 95 mph and his curveball, which is seldom hit. But the idea is to give the best pitchers the most innings, and Morton has kept his name in consideration for being one of them.
Morton has this season held the opposition to a combined .229 batting average, a .310 on-base percentage and a .388 slugging percentage. He’s carved up lefties to the tune of a .172/.264/.291 line by significantly decreasing his sinker usage against them and throwing more fourseam fastballs, cutters and curveballs. In a good place
The Angels (76-78) deployed seven righthanded hitters against him in Saturday’s matinee. Morton allowed only one run on four hits, a walk and two hit batters. His five strikeouts complemented nine groundouts. He needed only 81 pitches to record his 21 outs.
“I feel like I’m in a good spot,” he said. “I think my delivery’s in a good spot. My mentality’s good. I think as a team we’re in a really good spot. I’m really excited to get into October.”
Morton was as efficient as any Astros pitcher has been in a start all season. He threw fewer than a dozen pitches in each of his first five innings and fewer than 10 in each of the second through fifth frames. After facing the minimum number of batters through five, he appeared to tire late. Justin Upton spoiled his shutout bid with a blast to lead off the seventh, the first of Upton’s two in the game.
“I’m a little under the weather. I just elevated some pitches,” said Morton, who sounded as if he had a cold. “A few of them were curveballs. I just popped out, didn’t finish them. It’s a pretty simple problem to fix to not throw those pitches. To execute exactly where I want them to be (is) a little more of a struggle.”
When he finished the seventh, it was clear Morton was done. Tony Sipp recorded two outs in the eighth before Hinch called on Joe Musgrove to handle Mike Trout, who struck out. Will Harris yielded Upton’s second homer in the ninth but recovered to retire the final three batters of the game. Top of order produces
The top four in the Astros’ lineup accounted for each of the team’s eight hits. Carlos Correa was 3-for3 with three RBIs in his first game as a 23-year-old. Marwin Gonzalez also had a three-hit performance. Evan Gattis highlighted a four-run fifth with a threerun homer off Eduardo Paredes, one of five relievers the Angels used in a bullpen game.
For Morton, his seven innings matched a season high. His sinker featured the movement it does when he’s on top of his game, and the Angels approached him aggressively. The defense took care of the rest.
“I feel like any time Charlie goes out there, he could have a game like this,” said Gattis, who caught Morton for the 11th time this season. “It doesn’t really matter what (hitters’) strengths are as much. With him, his pitching strengths are going to beat a lot of hitter’s strengths.”