Charlie Morton had one of his best outings of the season against the Chicago White Sox.
Following two subpar performances, though, the veteran right-hander will look to bounce back in the finale of the Detroit Tigers’ three-game home series against the White Sox on Sunday afternoon.
Pitching for Baltimore earlier this season, Morton (9-10, 5.51 ERA) didn’t allow an earned run in 6 2/3 innings against Chicago on June 1 while recording his second victory.
Acquired at the trade deadline in July by the Tigers (82-61), Morton was sharp in three of his first four starts for his new team. It hasn’t gone as smoothly in his last two outings. The Athletics scored five runs off him in five innings, then the New York Mets rocked him for six runs in 3 2/3 innings on Monday,
The last pitch he threw wound up over Comerica Park’s right field wall. Mets slugger Juan Soto, who has given Morton fits, crushed a hanging curveball for a grand slam.
“It just kind of came out of my hand weird, like it didn’t really spin great, didn’t really move great,” Morton said. “It wasn’t like I wasn’t trying to throw a good pitch. I just didn’t throw a good pitch. And he just put a great swing on it.”
Morton’s outing against the White Sox wasn’t an aberration. He’s won all six of his career starts against them, posting a 1.70 ERA.
Davis Martin (6-9, 4.06 ERA) will start on Sunday for Chicago (54-89). The right-hander has three wins and two no-decisions in his last five outings; he held Minnesota to three runs in six innings on Monday in Chicago’s 6-5 victory. He’ll look to avenge his worst start of the season on April 5. In that game, Martin gave up seven runs and nine hits in five innings in a 7-2 loss to the Tigers. Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter homered in that contest.
Martin is 1-2 with a 3.95 ERA in five career outings against Detroit.
Chicago had its six-game winning streak snapped on Saturday. The White Sox managed just three hits against Detroit ace Tarik Skubal and two relievers in the 6-0 setback.
Colson Montgomery was hitless in three at-bats, a rare quiet night for the slugging rookie shortstop. Montgomery, who made his major-league debut on July 4, blasted his 18th homer in Friday’s 7-5 win over the Tigers.
‘‘He’s just dangerous,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. ‘‘He continues to put himself in good spots.”
The White Sox still are firmly in last place in the American League Central, but young players such as Montgomery give them hope for a brighter future.
‘‘[This year’s team] has nothing to do with last year,” Montgomery told the Chicago Sun-Times about the White Sox, who last season set the modern-era record for losses with 121. ‘‘So it’s like, why don’t we just rewrite the script of what we want it to be? That’s why a lot of us young players are shining right now. We’re just being who we are. [We’re] not really trying to do too much and be something that we’re not.”
The game on Sunday will complete the season series. The Tigers have an 8-4 record against the White Sox this season.
–Field Level Media
