ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ In talking about being chosen for the American League All-Star team, Charlie Morton has made a point to say he was disappointed that more of his Rays teammates besides Austin Meadows weren't selected.
There is some symmetry to that, because those Rays teammates, and staff, were incredibly pleased to see Morton get rewarded for his impressive performance.
Morton put that form on display again Tuesday in working a stellar seven innings, leading the Rays by the Orioles 6-3 for their fourth straight win.
Morton improved his record to 9-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.36, which at least temporarily was best in the American League, while allowing only one run and four hits and striking out a season-high 12 while throwing 101 pitches.
He got plenty of help, as Brandon Lowe, Avisail Garcia and Tommy Pham knocked in two runs apiece as the Rays improved to 50-36.
Lowe's performance, which included his Rays high 16th homer and pushed his team-leading RBI total to 49, included a scare, as he left in obvious pain after fouling a ball off his right leg in the sixth. The Rays said he had only a contusion and that X-rays were negative and he is day to day.
Lowe got the Rays off to a good start, robbing Orioles leadoff man Jonathan Villar of a hit then going deep, matching Evan Longoria's team mark for homers by a rookie before the All-Star break. Lowe also singled in a run in the third.
Held in check by O's just-acquired-and-called-up starter Asher Wojciechowski through five innings, the Rays finally separated the game. Garcia delivered a two-run single in the sixth, and Pham laced a two-run double in the seventh. Chaz Roe allowed two runs in the ninth then finished it off.
The Rays made an uncharacteristically bold move into free agency this past winter, signing Morton to a two-year, $30-million contract that included the largest salaries, at $15 million per, in franchise history.
To this point, with the 8-2, 2.43 record he took to the mound Tuesday, and all he has done in providing leadership and guidance, they feel it really couldn't have gone any better.
"I certainly think that's fair," manager Kevin Cash said before the game. "He's got two starts left before the break, and his All-Star Game. Hopefully we can get him some run support and keep him on the run that he's been on. It's been fun to sit back and watch and appreciate everything he's helped us do this first half."
Obviously that starts with his pitching, as Morton went into play Tuesday among the AL top 10 in ERA, wins, strikeouts (120), WHIP (1.05), strikeouts per nine innings (10.80), opponents average (.197) and WAR (3.1, per baseball-reference.com).
"His stuff is really good," Cash said. "The fastball ranges 93 to 97. The breaking ball is kind of the equalizer, (to) righties or lefties. He's got the big curveball, slider, slurve, whatever you want to call it. When he's got that going, it really quiets lineups."
But there is so much more that Morton, 35, has brought, which was not unexpected as his reputation as one of the game's best guys preceded him to Tampa Bay.
While Morton is willing to discuss strategy and pitching mechanics and just about anything else anyone wants to, pitching coach Kyle Snyder said the way he shares his life experiences has been a huge benefit, especially to an otherwise mostly young staff.
"He's gone through a lot of different things," Snyder said. "Different types of adversity. He's overcome a number of different injuries to basically become the best version of himself at the age of 35.
"There's a lot of guys that look around in here and you can see that. You can draw some inspiration from that. At the end of the day, these guys realize it's a young man's game and he's thriving at an older age. He's a tremendous worker, a tremendous influence. ...
"There's things that he's gone through, things he can share with Blake (Snell) during Blake's rough stretch. I think he's been a tremendous asset in that regard. When you feel stuck a little bit and the pitching coach isn't helping you, just to offer up perspective. He's given respect with what he's accomplished in his career, and it's powerful. It really is. And he's a super guy. He's one of the best guys I've been around in this game, player or coach. He's just approachable, extremely intelligent and relatable to all the guys on the team."
And some of it, Cash said, comes from leading by example.
"I just see the influence that he has on his teammates and the way a lot of the starting pitchers ... have kind of gravitated to him," he said. "You see during the game ... they're always communicating. He's just kind of a model of consistency the way he carries himself."
