Charlie Morton did not give up a run in six innings of work on Monday night and earned his first win of the season with the Houston Astros, but the right-hander felt he had plenty of room for improvement. Fellow starter Gerrit Cole seemed to disagree.
Cole, who has been reunited with Morton after he was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to Houston during the offseason, had a great reaction when Morton told reporters he did not feel he had his best stuff.
Charlie Morton: "I don't think I threw the ball great tonight. I think the results were pretty good."
Gerrit Cole, putting on his shoes at his locker a few feet away: "Your standards are high, Charles."
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) April 3, 2018
Morton allowed just three hits over six innings in a 6-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. He struck out six and walked two.
As you can tell by the way Cole called him “Charles,” Cole and Morton are quite familiar with one another. They were teammates for three seasons in Pittsburgh from 2013-2015, and they are now two important pieces of arguably the best rotation in baseball.
We learned a few months ago that Cole is not the only member of his family with a great sense of humor. The defending champion Astros should be a lot of fun to follow this season.
