Morton gets the ball for Astros
HOUSTON — A.J. Hinch was unbowed. Maybe half the world and most of Houston expected him to announce Lance McCullers Jr. was going to be his starter for Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, but he was the one with the choice.
And he picked Charlie Morton.
“He’s on regular rest,” Hinch said of Morton, who went 14-7 with a 3.62 ERA during the regular season, probably his finest as a big leaguer. “We’re going to have all hands on deck. You’re going to see a game played tomorrow with everyone available.
“With Charlie, he’s been one of the unluckiest pitchers in postseason. He’s not been hit hard, given up a couple of runs here and there, we just feel with everyday rest or regular rest, he’s a great option.”
Morton started Game 3 of this series at Yankee Stadium and he breezed through the first inning. But after getting two quick outs in the second, he was snakebit: an infield single, a bloop single and then Todd Frazier’s remarkable threerun home run in which he was fooled by a slider yet still managed to pop the ball into the rightfield seats.
Morton allowed seven runs and six hits in Game 3, but he didn’t lose the faith of his manager. As important, he didn’t lose faith in himself.
“Any game you throw, I generally just try to forget about a game as quick as I can, whether good or bad,” he said. “I learn from it, take what I can and move on. I still went over the video, I’ll do some data tomorrow, and just treat it as another start.”
Morton said he takes a certain pride in being asked to help deliver his team to only the second World Series appearance in franchise history.
“For me the whole season has been special,” he said. “And to get to this point, with this group of guys, I’ll remember this the rest of my life. So the stakes are high, obviously, in a Game 7, but I’m just trying to appreciate the moments because it’s been unbelievable to be a part if this with these guys.”