ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Charlie Morton threw his fastest pitch of Friday's game to end the at-bat of the first batter he faced, blowing a high fastball at 97.9 mph past the Astros' George Springer.
Think Morton was amped about facing his former team for the first time and getting the win in a 4-2 Rays victory?
Morton, who was on the mound when Houston won its only World Series title two years ago, will always have a place in Astros lore. Barring the unexpected, Houston will contend for a World Series title again this season. But it's clearly not the same team without Morton.
When Morton's name was announced during pregame introductions, a group of Astros fans behind Tropicana Field's visiting dugout offered him a standing ovation.
As Morton jogged to the mound to open the game, he subtly tipped his cap to the opposing dugout.
Going into the game, the 35-year-old right-hander told reporters he didn't think he had an inherent advantage against the Astros because he didn't really watch his old teammates with a critical eye.
"It's a very Charlie thing to say," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "He trusts his game plan from his pitching coach and from his catchers. I know he relies heavily on that. But I bet he knows a little bit more than he's letting on."
But when it came to game time, Morton demonstrated how well he knew his old teammates.
He struck out eight, allowing a pair of runs and three hits over five innings to win his Rays debut.
Going into the game, Hinch said the key to beating Morton was finding his fastball, but Morton flummoxed his former mates with his staple curveball, which is one of the best in the game.
Six of Morton's eight strikeouts came on curveballs, including six swinging on pitches that dipped out of the strike zone.
Morton recorded three of his first six outs by strikeout. But he got in trouble in the third by hitting No. 9 hitter Tony Kemp to lead off the inning, then issuing a one-out walk to Jose Altuve two batters later.
Michael Brantley then took a 0-and-1 curveball that hung a tad too high in the zone down the right-field line for a two-run double that put Morton and the Rays down 2-0. A heady relay throw by second baseman Daniel Robertson cut Brantley down between second and third to end the inning.
That lead was short-lived as the Rays scored three in the bottom half of the inning on a pair of two-out, run-scoring hits: Tommy Pham's RBI single and Ji-Man Choi's two-run single.
Morton would retire six of the last seven batters he faced.
The Astros didn't waste any time going back to cheering for their former teammate.
After Morton left _ and it was announced that he had reached the 1,000 career strikeout mark _ the Astros players leaning against the dugout railing applauded.
