Charlie Morton (50) returned to the Pirates pitching rotation. Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
PITTSBURGH — The last time Charlie Morton was on a major league mound, he nearly incited a benches-clearing brawl, albeit unintentionally.
That was back on April 4, the last day of the exhibition season when the Pirates played the Phillies at Philadelphia.
Morton walked five batters in 1 2/3 innings. The right-hander was so wild that the Phillies thought he was intentionally throwing at them.
At that point, it became obvious Morton wasn’t ready to begin the season in the major leagues after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip last September.
“Things didn’t go the way I was hoping in spring training,” he said. “My catch play felt terrible, my bullpens felt terrible and I was terrible when I pitched in games.”
Morton came off the disabled list Monday night and looked like a new man in pitching the Pirates to a 4-2 victory over the Miami Marlins in the opener of a three-game series at PNC Park.
Morton worked an effective seven innings in leading the Pirates to their fourth win in a row and drawing them to .500 at 22-22.
Morton scattered eight hits, struck out three and did walk a batter. Most importantly, the sinkerballer got 18 of his 21 outs on grounders.
“He was very good,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Morton. “He’s 31 years old and he’s been through a lot and I’m sure the adrenaline was flowing early but he settled in and pitched a really good game. It was good to see.
“My hope was to get six good innings and then turn it over to the bullpen. He was so good and so strong that I had no wherewithal to take him out after six.”
