Morton receives a boast of confidence from start vs the Reds

Charlie Morton finally got the start he needed to boast his confidence. He needed just 69 pitches through 6.1 innings. Morton gave up three runs on six hits, walked one and struck out two.

“Charlie threw the ball really well,” Russell said. “It was nice to see him out there with some confidence and throwing the ball like he’s capable of. He’s been building toward this. Hopefully he can continue that. It was a very positive start for him.”

Morton did run into a jam in the second inning.

Scott Rolen lead off with a double and Jonny Gomes singled. Ramon Hernandez was hit by pitch, loading the bases with zero outs. Drew Stubbs hit a sac fly to center, giving the Reds the 1-0 lead. Miguel Cairo grounded into a double play to end the inning. Morton and the bucs escaped with allowing just the one run.

“I felt like myself,” Morton said. “I was able to relax. The key [in the second inning] is that I wasn’t worried about it. I wasn’t looking ahead.”

“He needs to not worry about the results and just go out and execute,” Russell said prior to Saturday’s game. “When he does that, he’s pretty effective.”

Morton cruised the rest of the game, even battling Edinson Vasquez in a pitchers duel. (Vasquez pitched seven innings allowing just one hit, no runs, walked one and struck out ten. He even retired 19 batters straight.)

“Volquez was as nasty as we’ve seen him,” said Neil Walker.