Morton blanks Reds; Bucs snap long skid
Associated Press
CICINNATI
The ball came off Fred Lewis’ bat with a sharp crack, and Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton thought: Uh-oh, not again!
Not this time. The ball was caught on the warning track, and Morton had his shutout.
The right-hander shut down Cincinnati’s powerful lineup again, throwing a five-hitter for his second career shutout, and Pedro Alvarez hit a three-run homer Wednesday night, leading Pittsburgh to a 5-0 victory that snapped the Pirates’ six-game losing streak.
“He’s so effective, especially when he keeps the ball down,” Alvarez said.
It helps when the weather cooperates, too.
Morton (5-1) avoided heavy rain for a change and stymied Cincinnati again. He threw a five-hitter for a 6-1 win at Great American Ball Park on April 15, coming within one out of his second career shutout. Jay Bruce homered with two outs in the ninth to end that shutout.
This time, he faced Lewis with two outs in the ninth. He hit a fly ball that Jose Tabata caught on the warning track in left field to finish it off.
“I almost thought when Fred hit that ball it was going to go out,” said Morton, who threw 69 strikes out of 106 pitches. “I just looked at it and was, ’Oh, no!’ But Tabata was at the warning track and he caught it.”
Alvarez ended his streak of 15 games without driving in a run when he connected in the fourth off Bronson Arroyo (3-4), who has been prone to homers this season. Andrew McCutchen added a two-run shot in the seventh.
Arroyo has given up 10 homers, accounting for 16 of the 29 runs he’s allowed. Against Morton, there was no margin for error.
“Any way you cut it, when Charlie’s throwing that way against us, you can’t afford to give up a lot of runs,” Arroyo said.
Morton sent the Reds to only their third loss in 14 games.