Charlie Morton got shelled by the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, but the veteran still managed to make history when his stuff was working.
The Baltimore Orioles righty racked up three strikeouts in the first inning alone, even if his opening frame was spoiled by a walk and a home run. Morton added two more punchouts in the second, after giving up another walk and another home run.
Morton finally tossed a scoreless inning in the third, which started with back-to-back strikeouts. And when he faced the meat of Boston’s order again in the fifth, Morton struck out the side.
The 41-year-old hurler finished the afternoon with 10 strikeouts in 5.0 innings. He did give up six hits, two walks and five earned runs, however, putting Baltimore in a hole right out of the gates.
According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Morton became the oldest pitcher in Orioles franchise history to record at least 10 strikeouts in a single game.
Morton is now one of four pitchers aged 41 years and 142 days or older to achieve the feat over the last 20 seasons. Randy Johnson did so five times, while Rich Hill and Orlando Hernandez round out the rest of the exclusive list.
The Orioles signed Morton to a one-year, $15 million contract in January. He was coming off a four-year stint with the Atlanta Braves, during which he ranked No. 3 in the National League with 124 starts.
Morton, formerly an All-Star with the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros, made a name for himself across seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since making his MLB debut in 2008, Morton is 138-125 with a 4.04 ERA, 1.309 WHIP and 19.1 WAR. He now ranks No. 6 among active players with 2,060 career strikeouts.
Through his first two starts of 2025, Morton is 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA, 1.920 WHIP and 14.0 strikeouts per nine innings. The Orioles went on to lose 8-4 on Thursday, dropping their series with the Red Sox in the process.