Charlie Morton allowed eight runs in his first start of the season. He allowed six more runs in his second start. On the surface, it may have looked like more of the same, but Morton showed some quantifiable improvement in his second appearance. Let’s start with the balls in play for each start.
Ground Balls
Fly Balls
Line Drives
Total Balls in Play
4/9/2010
2
4
8
14
4/14/2010
10
7
4
21
Total
12
11
12
35
Charlie Morton delivers in San Francisco on Wednesday - ZumaPress
The first game was simply a disaster. Over half of the balls put in play by the Diamondbacks were line drives. Morton, who has historically kept the ball on the ground at an above average rate, only induced two ground balls. On Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco, Morton was much better. Unfortun...
To continue reading the rest of this article, subscribe to Pirates Prospects. Subscribers get access to every article on the site, along with all of our exclusive live coverage of the Pirates' minor league system, all for a very low monthly or yearly rate.
If you're already a member, you can log in below. If you think you're receiving this message in error, please e-mail tim@piratesprospects.com.
