Orioles’ 24-2 defeat to Reds puts focus on Morton, ailing rotation

BALTIMORE (AP) - The Baltimore Orioles began Sunday with right-hander Charlie Morton making his fifth start since signing a one-year $15-million contract for the sixth club of his 18-season major league career.

It ended with position players on the mound for the final two innings of a humbling 24-2 defeat to the Cincinnati Reds that epitomized just how shaky starting pitching has been for Baltimore amid elevated expectations.

"It's embarrassing. It's not what you want to do on Easter Sunday in front of your home crowd," said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. "You just want it to be over as fast as possible."

The 41-year-old Morton (0-5) allowed seven runs over 2 1/3 innings in his shortest start since Sept. 22, 2023, a performance that raised the two-time All-Star's ERA to 10.89 amid continuing command problems.

By the time infielder Jorge Mateo and catcher Gary Sanchez had allowed the final nine runs over the eighth and ninth innings, Baltimore had yielded at least 24 runs and 25 hits for only the fourth time in franchise history.

"I've gone through enough searching and wondering and doubting (before)," Morton said of his recent struggles. "It's letting your teammates down, it's letting your coaches down, your fans down. That's something that you really kind of never get over. For me that's the most frustrating part."

Morton has allowed 31 hits and 15 walks total in just 20 2/3 innings. He insists he's healthy but erratic, which makes it hard for him to tell whether his repertoire still plays at the big league level.

"I think that's the big question, is my stuff good enough," Morton said. "And it's hard to judge it when you're behind a lot, and it's hard to judge it when you're in bad counts."

Baltimore is still only three games below .500 (9-12) as it tries to get back to the ways of consecutive postseason appearances in 2023 and 2024.

But the Orioles don’t have many other rotation options. They paused right-hander Grayson Rodriguez's return-to-pitching process this week over concerns regarding a sore shoulder, and are now seeking second opinions following an MRI. Fellow righties Albert Suarez (right shoulder) and Zach Eflin (right lat) have gone on the injured list after making the Opening Day roster.

Orioles starters have pitched to an American League-worst 6.11 ERA. The best start of this past weekend series against Cincinnati - relatively speaking - came from MLB debutant Brandon Young, who allowed three runs over four innings in a 9-5 win.

"You're just not going to be able to win games that way," Hyde said. "You're going to win them once in a while because you're going to outscore teams. But it's not how you win major league baseball games."