Morton, Pirates are shut out by Atlanta

Photo by: Gene J. Puskar

AP

Photo

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Neil Walker can't get to a ball hit over his head by Atlanta Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens for a single during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh Tuesday, May 24, 2011. The Braves won 2-0.

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

A year ago, Charlie Morton admits he would have thought he “was like Cy Young” if he pitched the way he did in a 2-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

Not anymore. Seven solid innings is good, sure. It’s just not good enough for one of the National League’s biggest surprises.

“I look back and I think I pitched OK and I think that speaks to how far I’ve come,” Morton said.

The 27-year-old continued his bounce-back year with another strong performance, allowing just two runs and striking out four, even if it wasn’t enough to outduel Atlanta’s dazzling Jair Jurrjens.

Jurrjens (6-1) shut down Pittsburgh over 72/3 innings, never allowing a Pirate to reach third base.

It was a command performance, but then again, Morton is used to it. He and Jurrjens came up in Atlanta’s organization at the same time before the Braves shipped Morton to Pittsburgh in 2009.

“He was just dealing when I was there and I was just getting by,” Morton said with a laugh.

Morton is doing considerably more than that these days. Following an awful 2010 when he went 2-12 and appeared to be on his way out of the majors, Morton has rediscovered his stuff and his confidence this spring.

The Pirates have failed to score in 19 straight innings and didn’t get a runner to third against Jurrjens.

Alex Gonzalez had three hits and scored a run for the Braves, who snapped Morton’s three-game winning streak.

“Luckily we had JJ going tonight because we haven’t been scoring a lot of runs lately,” Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman said.