Pittsburgh @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 28, 2010 ) Pittsburgh 7, Milwaukee 8
If there is one silver lining to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 18th straight losing season, it has been the emergence of some talented young players. Charlie Morton does not fit into that category.
Morton will be looking to end his season much better than he started when the Pirates try to avoid a sweep of a three-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
The only major league-ready piece that came over from the Atlanta Braves in the trade that sent fan favorite Nate McLouth out of town last season, Pittsburgh didn’t expect an ace in Morton, but more of a steady back-of-the-rotation type who could grab a few wins and keep them in some ball games.
Morton did just that in 18 starts in 2009, posting a 5-9 record with a 4.55 ERA. That showing earned him the No. 5 starter’s spot this spring, where Morton quickly turned into one of the worst pitchers in the major leagues.
The 26-year-old right-hander went 0-5 with a 12.57 ERA through his first five starts before finally picking up his first win with six innings of two-run ball against the Chicago Cubs on May 5. But the trouble started all over again next time out as Morton went on to lose his next four starts before finally being shipped back to Triple-A with a 1-9 record and a 9.35 ERA.
The minors were much kinder to the New Jersey native, as Morton managed to restore some of his promise by going 4-4 with a 3.83 ERA for Indianapolis, including four straight starts this month in which he has allowed a total of four earned runs in 24 innings.
So with Ross Ohlendorf heading to the disabled list with a shoulder strain and nothing left to lose, Pittsburgh will give Morton another chance today. The Brewers were responsible for the worst of Morton’s outings earlier this season, knocking him out after just one inning while piling up six runs - five earned - on six hits.
Milwaukee’s offense looks like it is in high gear again after posting 15 runs in the first two games of the series. Prince Fielder homered twice and Lorenzo Cain singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning on Saturday as the Brewers clinched the series with an 8-7 victory.
Milwaukee will send veteran Dave Bush to the mound today. The right-hander is coming off a loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he allowed 10 hits, including a pair of home runs, and five runs in six innings.
Bush has been trading good starts and absolute stinkers over the last seven turns, allowing five runs or more four times and two earned or less in the other three outings. One of the bad ones came at Pittsburgh on July 20, when Bush was knocked around for 10 runs - five earned - and nine hits in four innings to suffer the loss.