Morton reaches a 'special' round number in his Tigers debut

PHILADELPHIA -- Charlie Morton continues to defy Father Time.

Making his 400th career start in his debut for the Tigers, Morton pitched six strong innings Sunday night during Detroit’s 2-0 loss to Cristopher Sánchez and the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The 41-year-old right-hander allowed one run on four hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

Morton became just the fourth active player to reach 400 starts, joining elite company with Justin Verlander (544), Max Scherzer (465) and Clayton Kershaw (442).

“Those guys are Hall of Famers,” Morton said. “That feels nice.”

Morton, a third-round Draft pick by the Braves in 2002, reflected on one of his early career starts after being called up by Atlanta in June 2008. At the time, he couldn’t even imagine pitching into August 2008 let alone August 2025 when future Hall of Famer John Smoltz posed a question.

“I was walking down the tunnel with him and he said, ‘Hey, man, you think you can do this three hundred more times?’” Morton recalled. “At the time, the idea of just another month in the big leagues was somewhat overwhelming.”

Morton got past that first month just fine and is still going strong.

“Four hundred starts is a lot,” he said. “I’ve been blessed and lucky. It was a special moment. It was awesome.”

Acquired by Detroit on Thursday from the Orioles, Morton showed why he has lasted so long in the game with his performance against a tough Phillies lineup. Mixing his go-to curveball with a four-seamer hovering around 95 mph and a changeup in the high 80’s, the two-time All-Star kept Phillies hitters off balance.

“He was good,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He held it together and showed a lot of life. He remained calm under pressure and put us in a good position to have a chance.”

Morton really got into a groove in the fourth inning, when he fanned J.T. Realmuto (95.5 mph four-seamer), Nick Castellanos (81.4 mph curveball) and Brandon Marsh (94.2 mph four-seamer) in order. Then he started the fifth with strikeouts of Max Kepler (88.1 mph changeup) and Edmundo Sosa (93.9 mph four-seamer).

It was a remarkable sequence for any pitcher, especially one throwing against athletes who were probably playing in Little League when Morton made his big league debut on June 14, 2008.

“I started to get a better feel probably for my breaking ball, even my changeup,” Morton said. “Just a good mix and better locations.”

Hinch, who also managed Morton during his stint with Houston, is not surprised by the veteran’s success.

“His body still moves great, the velocity is still excellent, his pitches are still inducing a lot of miss and soft contact,” Hinch said. “And he’s using them appropriately to get his outs.”

Besides a superb performance, Morton also got some help from his teammates.

Riley Greene made a sensational diving catch in left field to end the second inning, saving at least one run by robbing Bryson Stott of extra bases. In the sixth, with Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper on base, Wenceel Pérez made a leaping catch against the right-field wall in foul territory to end the frame.

That ended the night for Morton, whose only bump in his 84-pitch, 59-strike outing was Philadelphia’s second-inning run on Max Kepler’s RBI groundout.

“It was fun to get out there,” Morton said. “Just a lot of great plays behind me. I just think we ran up against a little bit of a buzz saw. Tough game, but I felt pretty good about it.”

Sunday’s outing continued Morton’s turnaround after a rocky start.

He struggled mightily out of the gate this season in Baltimore after signing a one-year, $15 million deal. Through five starts, he had a 10.89 ERA. Morton’s missteps were magnified, he said, by the impact on his new team.

“You sign a nice contract with a team that has a lot of expectations, and it was really tough to not only not contribute but to be part of the problem,” he said.

Following his April 20 outing, he moved to the bullpen. With help and support from Orioles pitching coach Drew French, Morton found the timing and rhythm in his delivery that has made him so effective for so long.

“It wasn’t anything crazy; it wasn’t anything radical,” he said. “It was kind of getting back to who I am on the mound, where I’m a little bit smoother and things kind of flow a little bit more.”

With comfort in his delivery, he rejoined Baltimore’s rotation in June and pitched to a 3.98 ERA in 10 starts in June and July. On Sunday, Morton maintained his fine form while continuing to answer Smoltz’s question with a resounding yes.