Detroit Tigers right-hander Charlie Morton has pitched across three decades, faced hundreds of hitters and made his mark in nearly every ballpark — but his encounters with the Minnesota Twins have been surprisingly few.
On Friday night in Minneapolis, the 41-year-old veteran will make just his seventh career appearance against the Twins, a matchup that stands out for its rarity in a long and accomplished career.
Morton (7-10, 5.48 ERA) first opposed the Twins in 2015 and most recently faced them on May 14. The scarcity of the head-to-head matchups stems from his long tenure in the National League and a career path that has zigzagged through seven franchises.
In the six meetings (five starts), he has a 2-2 record with a 4.65 ERA, 34 strikeouts and 12 walks in 31 innings. This year, Morton is -1 with 5.14 ERA in one start and one relief outing vs. Minnesota.
Career oddities are not new to Morton. In Detroit’s 7-4 defeat to the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, he had seven consecutive strikeouts, and 10 for the game, but he wound up allowing six runs on seven hits and one walk in 4 1/3 inning.
“That’s probably one of the weirdest outings of my career,” Morton said. “Just the strikes, working ahead, swing and miss, and then you look back and like, man, I gave up six runs in that.”
Morton will get an opportunity to help Detroit extend its two-game winning streak following a come-from-behind, 4-3 win in 11 innings over Minnesota on Thursday. The Tigers have a big-league-best 19-8 record in one-run games this season.
“We just find ways,” Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. “Whatever the game gives us that day, we’re gonna take and we’re gonna roll with.”
The Twins had an opportunity to win the game in the 10th inning when Alan Roden attempted to score on Austin Martin’s grounder to first base. Torkelson threw to catcher Dillon Dingler, who tagged out Roden at the plate.
The opener of the four-game series brought on tense emotions. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was ejected for the fourth time this season after Ryan Jeffers said he tipped a pitch in the dirt that was ruled a strikeout in the 11th inning.
Baldelli said he wanted plate umpire John Bacon to check the ball for dirt to see if Dingler didn’t field it cleanly, which would have extended Jeffers’ at-bat.
“It’s a huge moment,” Baldelli said. “We’ve been battling for several hours, facing a good team and the best pitcher in baseball (Tarik Skubal), and it comes down to extra-innings situations. Those are big spots.
Even though the Twins are 13 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central and seven games out of a playoff spot, Baldelli is not willing to concede.
“I wouldn’t say we’re not contending,” Baldelli said before the Thursday game. “I would say we intend to win as many games as we possibly can, and if we can get ourselves in contention, that’s what we’ll be looking for — to aim towards.”
Pierson Ohl (0-2, 7.15 ERA) will get the start Friday for Minnesota. The rookie right-hander faced the Tigers on Aug. 6, when he allowed four runs and struck out three in 2 2/3 innings during a no-decision.
–Field Level Media
