Pair of two-run homers hurt Morton early in Orioles' 8-4 loss to Red Sox (updated)

The mysterious uptick in Charlie Morton’s velocity didn’t return in the first inning today. His four-seam fastball was 93.3 to 94.6 mph against leadoff hitter Jarren Duran and topped at 94.7. And his third strikeout came on a curveball to Trevor Story, a pitch that produced only one out in his Orioles debut in Toronto.

If Morton was getting back to normal, he couldn’t enjoy it. Rafael Devers walked with one out in the first and Alex Bregman hit the next pitch, a sinker, to deep left field for a quick Red Sox lead.

Wilyer Abreu led off the second with a full-count walk, Kristian Campbell also worked the count full, and Morton hung a curveball that was launched to left at a distance of 389 feet.

The new dimensions in left aided Campbell. Bregman’s ball traveled 397 feet and didn’t need the benefit of a drawn-in wall. But both swings stung the Orioles in an 8-4 loss to the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 16,656 at Camden Yards that dropped them below .500 heading into their next road trip.

Morton struck out 10 batters in five innings, four short of his career high and the 28^th time that he’s reached double digits, and he exited with his pitch count at 98. He allowed five runs and six hits and walked two batters, and his ERA is 9.72 in two starts with the Orioles.

“Just thought he made a few bad pitches," said manager Brandon Hyde. "Couple two-run homers but he punched out 10. Thought he competed well. Got through five innings for us, just a couple two-run homers there hurt early in the game.”

Morton, 41, is the oldest player in club history to strike out 10. Today marked his first double-digit strikeout game since Aug. 23, 2023 (11) with the Braves.

That part of Morton’s game was on point.

"I think he was better this time out than he was in Toronto," Hyde said. "Thought his curveball was better. He had better put-away stuff. Stuff was good, just the middle pitch to Bregman and to have a backup curveball to the young kid Campbell, that’s an impressive looking player. It’s a good team. This is a good lineup. They don’t even have Devers going. Duran and Devers are really dangerous at the top. Adding Bregman, that’s a huge piece. He hurt us all series. It’s a tough team to pitch against.”

“I think you have to just be honest about what happened," Morton said. "I think I had good stuff. I think I made a lot of really good pitches. I just made a couple costly mistakes. Breggy ambushed a heater that was just middle-middle, 0-0. I got into a deep count with Campbell. What I saw was, I saw a flinch on the first breaking ball I threw to him. I saw a flinch on the second breaking ball I threw to him. On 3-2, you don’t necessarily think that hitters will, especially in that situation from what I saw, be able to stay on that breaking ball. And it was a decent pitch. For a 3-2 curveball, it’s a decent pitch.

"I can second-guess it. I can look back and go, ‘Man, maybe if I got the ball on the ground, sinker or whatever.’ But I think the way I evaluate that outing is there was some early inefficiency that ran my pitch count up. And they made me pay for those walks with the long ball, two good swings.”

Cedric Mullins hit atop the order for the first time since Sept. 29, 2023 and he produced his 17^th career leadoff homer, reaching the flag court in right against Tanner Houck. Jordan Westburg had a two-out RBI single in the third after Houck struck out the first two batters and walked the next two. But the Red Sox led 5-2 in the fourth after three singles loaded the bases and Duran flied to left.

Morton had thrown 83 pitches and allowed six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. The first eight batters against him struck out, walked or homered.

“I think in Toronto, my four-seamer was playing up and it was today, too. I think it took me a little while to see that and to start being more aggressive in zone with the four-seamer," he said.

"Fourth inning in Toronto, three hits real quick, bases loaded real quick. So if I had to, I’d say it was a pretty similar outing in terms of high pitch count early. But really, I didn’t feel too threatened by the traffic today. I didn’t really feel like my back was against the wall. I didn’t. Whereas in Toronto they were keeping pressure on me.”

The curve brought better results despite Campbell's homer.

"The shape of it, the locations I felt good about," Morton said. "We were getting some swings and misses on it. So yeah, I felt good about my curveball.”

Ramón Urías had a two-out, run-scoring single in the bottom of the fourth after Heston Kjerstad doubled to the opposite field. The Orioles were trying to chip away. They just needed Morton and the bullpen to subdue the Red Sox.

Bryan Baker tossed a scoreless sixth to give him 4 2/3, but Keegan Akin surrendered a two-run, left-on-left homer to Triston Casas in the seventh. The ball traveled 377 feet to left field, where the Red Sox had no fears.

The Orioles have scored 12, two, nine, one, eight, zero and four runs so far this season. Their rotation has posted a 6.35 ERA and Zach Eflin is the only starter to complete six innings, which seems to be the more pressing issue at the moment.

“Obviously you’d love to have guys have lower pitch counts per inning," Hyde said, "but appreciate Charlie finishing five there.”

Akin hadn’t allowed a run in his first three appearances and he retired the first two batters today before Bregman doubled to extend the inning.

Matt Bowman retired the side in order in the eighth, but Devers singled with two outs in the ninth and scored on Bregman's double. Bowman had tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings heading into the inning.

Jackson Holliday doubled to left-center in the ninth and scored on Dylan Carlson's sacrifice fly. Carlson had struck out in his first three at-bats.

Mullins reached three times and has homered and stolen a base in the same game 11 times in his career, 10 short of Brady Anderson’s club record, per STATS. Brian Roberts did it 19 times, Adam Jones 16. Paul Blair 12, Al Bumbry and Eddie Murray 11 and Luis Aparicio 10.

Gunnar Henderson is expected in the lineup Friday night in Kansas City and should resume his regular leadoff duties.