Charlie Morton posts dubious pitching line not seen since 1913; Astros still beat Rangers

Houston Astros pitcher Charlie Morton had a rough day on the mound on Saturday.

Fortunately for Houston, the Texas Rangers had an even worse day at the plate as the Astros pulled out a 4-3 win.

Morton lasted 3.2 innings in a start where he can consider himself very lucky he escaped giving up just one earned run. Morton walked six batters and plunked four en route to matching this dubious stat line not seen in 105 years.

While Hughes needed nine innings to achieve those numbers, Morton didn’t get out of the fourth.

So how did the Astros manage to win the game?

Texas was abysmal at the plate, leaving batters stranded at a remarkable rate.

The outing was an aberration for Morton, who had a 10-game winning streak snapped in his previous start.

”He just looked out of whack from the very beginning, delivery, timing, execution,” manager A.J. Hinch told reporters. ”He was doing things that he never does, hitting left-handers with back-foot breaking balls, misfiring on a lot of fastballs. Just the entire game was a fight for him within himself.”

Morton knew he got away with one and told reporters as much after the game.

“I got away with not knowing where the ball was going,” Morton said. “It was a pretty unprofessional outing, I think, bordering on embarrassing.”

MLB video from Yahoo Sports

More from Yahoo Sports:
• Durant rejects claims he wrecked NBA’s competitive balance
• Tebow dragged into NFL anthem controversy
• Dan Wetzel: LeBron makes priorities clear for next decision
• No MVP Finals trophy? So what, says Curry