Morton finds his joy
In Morton, the Astros have a veteran who delivers his best performances in postseason
The joy in watching Charlie Morton do work on the mound isn’t necessarily in the details.
The particulars can be special. The sometimes slight, other times slurvy movements that lead his fastball to slide past bats, at times leaving hitters flailing helplessly then looking befuddled are entertaining. That tricky changeup that comes in low and slow is virtually unhittable when he is throwing it for strikes.
But with Morton it is deeper than that. It is the pleasure of watching a veteran pitcher, one who more than once thought his career was over, find his game. Find his joy.
Saturday, Morton left the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks after six solid innings as he racked up a win that gave him a career-high 15 in a season. Let’s not debate how meaningful a pitcher’s victory total is as a statistic. Instead, let’s celebrate Morton, a 34-year-old righthander, following up a career-high 14 wins in 2017 with an even better season.
That is what his teammates did, as they feted him in the clubhouse for reaching the mark following the Astros’ 10-4 victory.
“The back of the baseball card matters,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.
Morton’s card for this season is a sterling 15-3 with a 3.15 ERA.
“The wins mean a lot to me because of this group I’ve been able to be a part of for two years,” Morton said.
Morton, who made his first All-Star team this year, might not be the most important pitcher in the Astros’ roster — on paper — but he is a difference-maker other teams lack. Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Dallas Keuchel are difficult to match. Morton even more so.
Dig that deep into the rotation of title contenders and you won’t find experienced, top-ofthe-rotation talent. Where other teams will be doing patchwork with their throwing arms as they advance through the playoffs, the Astros’ adjustments are more likely to be out of desire than desperation.
That is how Morton was given the opportunity to be dominant in two of the most important games in franchise history a year ago.
He threw five shutout innings at the start of Game 7 of the ALCS, and allowed a run over four innings to close out Game 7 of the World Series.
Err on side of caution
Who knows what Morton will be called upon to do this postseason. Whatever his assigned function might be, the Astros have concluded that for him to be better prepared requires tender care. That is why he skipped a start two weeks ago, and was pushed back a couple of days before taking the mound for this outing.
Though listed as out with “shoulder discomfort,” he was not injured, just resting. As much as the Astros would like to find a perfect formula for limiting pitching injuries, that isn’t going to happen soon.
For now, they must employ old-fashioned feel. Ignoring the rotation schedule to preserve Morton’s arm is the smart play.
For the all-in team guy that is Morton, he will do whatever is asked of him. But he wants to pitch. Barring an injury, Morton will surpass his career highs in innings and pitches thrown.
After Saturday’s game, he has thrown 2,630 pitches in 163 innings. The only time in the 10 years since he made his major league debut ( June 2008) that he threw more was in 2011, when he threw 2,736 pitches in 171<AF>2/3<XA> innings.
That season ended in September with his Pirates 24 games back. These Astros are October-bound.
Morton should get two more starts before the year is over, but the caution is with good reason. The Astros are 11-2 in September, the best record in baseball, and their 18-5 mark dating to Aug. 21 also tops all of MLB.
Matter for debate
The A’s have played at a tremendous clip, but the Astros are in good shape. Morton strong and delivering in the postseason is far more important than him closing out the regular season.
“I’m not even sure how beneficial it is, to be honest with you,” Morton said. “It might be better to just keep throwing on regular rest. I have no idea.
“I want to pitch. I want to contribute here in the regular season; I want to contribute in the playoffs.”
Morton was on point early against the Diamondbacks. Of his first 25 pitches, 20 went for strikes, as he cruised through the first two innings. By the time he was taken out, he had allowed only two runs and three hits. More importantly, though, he threw just 70 pitches (55 strikes).
Thanks to some offensive help, this outing wasn’t much more taxing than a simulated game.
It should have been an even easier night for Morton, but the Astros ran themselves into trouble with aggression. Despite six walks, they scored just two runs in the first three innings, leaving the bases loaded twice. But the Astros put up a three-run fourth to widen the gap and extended the lead to 8-2 with three in the sixth.
Hinch decided there was no need for Morton to return, so he hit the showers having thrown the fewest pitches he had thrown in a game all season.
“We’re a really good team, an awesome team,” Morton said. “I’m just hoping that we stay healthy down the stretch and everything will work out in the end.”
In the end, every pitch saved in September could be championship-worthy in October.
That’s when the Astros most want to see Morton at his best.