HOUSTON -- Through seven innings of two-run baseball, Astros starter Charlie Morton allowed minimal damage to Detroit's explosive lineup and kept a win within reach for the Astros on Wednesday night.
Before the Tigers scored a pair of runs in the eighth inning to pull ahead of the the Astros for a 6-3 victory, Morton gave up four hits and two earned runs, his lowest run total in his last three starts. He also retired 14 of the last 15 hitters he faced.
After his last start in Houston's 5-3 loss to Cleveland on Friday, Morton said he struggled executing a third pitch -- his cutter -- against the opposition's third round of at-bats.