Charlie Morton grounds Marlins as Pirates win fourth straight
By Matt Shetler
The recipe for Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Charlie Morton is a simple one. Make the opposition pound the ball into the ground and let his defense do the rest of the work.
Morton and the Pirates’ infield defense worked that plan to perfection Wednesday night as the Bucs defeated the Miami Marlins 4-2 at PNC Park.
Jul 12, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Charlie Morton (50) throws a pitch against the New York Mets during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The win was the Pirates fourth in a row but the big story was Morton (4-3), who looked his best since coming back from Tommy John surgery.
Morton went seven strong innings, allowing only two earned runs on six hits while striking out five. But his start was reminiscent of the Morton from the 2011 season. Morton showed the ability to be a ground-ball machine as only one of the 21 outs he recorded came in the air. In addition, the Marlins had very few hard-hit balls off Morton, who retired the final 12 hitters he faced.
Miami got on the board in the fourth when Giancarlo Stanton led off the inning with a ground-ball single just out of the reach of Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer. Stanton moved to third on a double off the bat of Logan Morrison and came home to score the first run on a bloop single from Donovan Solano that barely escaped second baseman Neil Walker.
Morrison scored the second run of the game after Morton induced a double-play ball from Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. After that, Morton shut the door for the rest of the evening.
Morton played a big role with the bat as well.
The Bucs cut the lead in half during their half of the fourth when Andrew McCutchen clubbed his 16th home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center to make it a 2-1 game.
Morton then delivered a big blow with the bat to make it a 2-2 game. After Josh Harrison and Mercer moved up on a wild pitch to present a second and third situation with only one out, Morton laced a single into right to tie the ball game. A couple of pitches later, Mercer scored on another wild pitch from Marlins starter Tom Koehler (3-7), as the Pirates took the lead for good.
Pedro Alvarez added a sac fly in the bottom of the eighth to add an insurance run and then Mark Melancon came on to shut down the Marlins in the ninth to record his seventh save of the season.
The win, coupled with a loss by the St. Louis Cardinals, extended the Pirates’ lead in the National League Central to three games.
The Pirates will go for the sweep of the Marlins tomorrow afternoon when youngsters Gerrit Cole (5-5) and Jose Fernandez (8-5) hook up for the second time in a week. Game time is scheduled for 12:35 p.m.