Pittsburgh Pirates: Do you feel bad for Charlie Morton?

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost a 5-0 game to the New York Mets today, dropping their record to 23-29. The storylines have been plentiful throughout the year, but Charlie Morton and his 1-7 record has to jump out as one of the NL Central’s biggest surprises.

The 6’5″ right-hander hasn’t caught a break this season, losing game after game by some slight margins. Check out some of these reasons why you might feel sorry for the 30-year-old.

In Morton’s six May starts, he’s allowed two or less runs in five games. However, his record is 1-3.

Morton has thrown gem after gem, but his offense hasn’t been able to put up the fireworks needed to get their pitcher the win. He’s lost four May starts by just one run, and his 2.25 May ERA is beyond impressive. He’s keeping hitters on their toes, but the Pittsburgh offense has been weak to say the least.

The last two games that Morton has gone 6+ innings, he’s lost.

Both of these games have been one run losses. Morton has pitched well enough, but his offense hasn’t been able to come through in the big moments and plate runs.

Our friends over at Rum Bunter noted earlier in the year that Morton has improved tremendously. Here’s a clip from their article.

"Charlie Morton has become a changed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Over the years Morton has had a tendency to allow an inning get away from him.  It was often said that if a ball was going to find grass, it always would against the Bucs sinkerballer.  If there was a picture of bad luck pitcher, Charlie Morton would certainly sit for the portrait.  Thankfully, it seems to be a thing of the past.   Now Morton takes matters into his own right hand."

Even when everything seems to be looking up for Morton, things can’t seem to fall into place.

Weigh in below with your thoughts. Do you feel bad for Charlie Morton?