Yesterday the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that Charlie Morton will start Tuesday night against the Red Sox, replacing Vance Worley who was originally scheduled to make the start. Morton has not pitched since August 15th against the Nationals, when he lasted only three innings and gave up five runs. Since that start, Morton has been on the disabled list, attempting to ease the pain that was caused by a sports hernia.
After a rehab start in Altoona in early September and multiple simulated games, the Pirates decided that Morton was healthy enough to re-enter the starting rotation. Morton has been dealing with his sports hernia since the beginning of June, and has had an up-and-down season since. The Pirates were encouraged with what they’ve seen from him in his recent bullpen sessions.
“We liked what we were seeing from Charlie. The ball was coming out of his hand well. He was back closer to the guy that was pitching well when the hip was bothering him and wanted to see how it played out on Tuesday,” GM Neal Huntington said Sunday afternoon.
Huntington was not willing to commit to Morton beyond his Tuesday start, stating that Morton’s health and results will be examined before deciding who will pitch Sunday against Milwaukee in that spot of the rotation.
“If Charlie throws well this will also give Vance an opportunity for a breather. It’s not the end of the world. If Charlie doesn’t throw well we’ll bridge the gap and bring Vance in behind him and go from there,” Huntington explained.
But why risk throwing an injured Morton when Worley is healthy and available and has pitched well this season?
Statistics suggest that Morton is actually a much better match-up against the Red Sox than Worley.
93.7 The Fan Host Dan Zangrilli tweeted that the Red Sox struggle hitting two-seam fastballs and curveballs — Morton’s two primary weapons. Morton throws his two-seam fastball 58% of the time, while throwing his curveball 25%.
For those wondering, "Why Morton?" on Tuesday: Perhaps this — Red Sox 26th in MLB vs. 2-seam fastball…23rd vs. curve ball.
— Dan Zangrilli (@DanZangrilli) September 14, 2014
The Red Sox have had great success hitting cutters, a pitch that Worley throws often.
Worley: 21% of the time he comes with cutter against teams. Red Sox 2nd in the league in hitting the cutter.
— Dan Zangrilli (@DanZangrilli) September 14, 2014
With only 13 games remaining this year, each game has heightened importance. The Pirates have six starters they can trust, so they can set up the rotation in order to have the have the best match-ups possible.
Assuming everything goes well for Morton health-wise and he performs at a high enough level on Tuesday, the question is who should make the next start Sunday against the Brewers?
Milwaukee is #1 in baseball in hitting the cutter. They sit 10th in baseball against the two-seamer, and #7 against the curveball. While they still have solid numbers against the two-seam fastball and curveball, they are dominant against the cutter.
Morton has not pitched well against Milwaukee this season, as he has a 4.85 ERA in two starts against them. Things have not gone well against Milwaukee for Worley either, as he pitched against them one time in a losing effort this season, pitching 6.1 innings and giving up 12 hits and 4 earned runs. But in 2013, Morton dominated the Brewers, going 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA in 3 starts.
If things go well for Morton on Tuesday, his 2013 success and Milwaukee’s dominance against the cutter suggest that he would be the better matchup to start on Sunday.
