It took awhile, but Charlie Morton got the start for the Baltimore Orioles last night. The game began in a rain delay of slightly longer than an hour before Morton and the O’s could even. Take the field. Morton was good – to be clear. But he labored to get through five innings – because of the weather. Morton’s line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K.
Again to be clear, Morton didn’t labor through five. The “laboring” was the question of whether the rai was going to start back up. Morton couldn’t have been stronger, save for the very beginning. A walk and a base hit to start the game put two runners on for Anaheim. But Morton struck out the next three hitters to get back in the dugout.
Ryan O’Hearn’s solo homer in the second inning gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. Meanwhile Morton kept mowing Anaheim hitters down. In the fourth inning the grounds crew started gathering behind the tarp in anticipation of rain. If Morton could get through five with the lead, needless to say it would be an official game.
And…he made it. He sent Anaheim down 1-2-3 in the fifth with storm clouds gathering. In the mean time, the Orioles were able to add to their lead. They began the last of the fifth, and Ramon Laureano added a solo home run. With one on and one out, the rain came. And they called for the tarp.
Perhaps the most surprising part of the game overall was the fact that it actually resumed. Following a roughly hour and fifteen minute rain delay, the teams played on. Morton obviously was done for the game, however since he made it through five he was in line to be the winner. And when the bullpen shut down Anaheim for the remainder of the game, he was.
The series continues today at Camden Yards. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Tyler Anderson. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.
Birdland Crush 