PITTSBURGH — Charlie Morton pitched seven innings to remain unbeaten since returning from hip surgery and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago White Sox 3-0 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight win.
Morton (5-0) lowered his ERA to 1.62 after striking out three and walking one and not allowing a batter to reach third base. Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his 21st save.
The Pirates have thrown three straight shutouts and five overall during their six-game run, a stretch in which their starters have allowed all of one earned run.
Francisco Cervelli and Sean Rodriguez hit solo home runs for the Pirates. Starling Marte, who had two hits, is batting .600 (15 for 25) over his last five games.
Jose Quintana (3-7) gave up three runs in six innings and again received little support in his 100th career start. The White Sox have dropped five straight.
Chicago managed all of two hits while getting blanked by Francisco Liriano on Monday night. They weren’t any more effective 24 hours later against Morton, who is enjoying the best stretch of his uneven career following a lengthy layoff from hip surgery and some extra time in the minors refining his mechanics.
Morton’s new delivery isn’t second nature yet, and he admits he spends the first couple of innings trying to refine his motion before settling in.
Chicago’s best chance came in the first inning, when Adam Eaton led off with a walk and stole second. Eaton slid past third base on a fielder’s choice and was tagged out by Jung Ho Kang. Three batters later Morton was out of the inning and cruising. He retired 11 straight at one point, giving Pittsburgh’s offence enough time to solve Quintana.
Quintana’s rough start had smoothed out recently. He came in having won his last two starts after being given four runs to work with, a stark contrast to April and May when the White Sox scored one run or less six times when Quintana’s spot in the rotation came up.
The Pirates moved in front in the third when Andrew McCutchen drove home Marte with a sharp single to left. Rodriguez added a homer deep into the bleachers in left field with one out in the fourth and Cervelli continued his torrid hitting with a rare show of power, taking a Quintana offering 412 feet for his second home run of the season. Cervelli is hitting .356 since May 1.
OUCH
Home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman got up close and personal with a curveball from Morton in the first inning. Alexei Ramirez was attempting to bunt when the bender got a little too far inside. Ramirez ducked out of the way and Cervelli moved his glove. The ball ended up striking Dreckman on the right arm. The game was delayed for a few moments while trainers checked on Dreckman.
SIGNING SPREE
The Pirates signed supplemental first-round draft pick Ke’Bryan Hayes and second-round pick Kevin Kramer on Tuesday.
Hayes, the son of former major league infielder Charlie Hayes, hit .436 with 27 RBIs for Concordia Lutheran (Texas) High this spring. The 18-year-old will begin his career with the Gulf Coast League Pirates. Kramer, taken with the 62nd overall pick, hit .323 for ULCA in 2015 and led the Bruins with seven homers while starting 61 games at shortstop.
UP NEXT
The series shifts to Chicago for two games at U.S. Cellular Field. Jeff Locke (3-3, 4.90) starts for the Pirates. Locke pitched six scoreless innings while earning a no-decision against Philadelphia in his last start. The 27-year-old is 4-1 with a 2.82 ERA in seven interleague starts. John Danks (3-6, 5.16 ERA) will try to end a two-game losing streak. The left-hander is 10-7 with 3.01 ERA against the National League in his nine-year career.
