Pirates starting pitcher Charlie Morton settled for his second loss Saturday against the Cubs, as he allowed a season-high four earned runs in a 4-1 final.
Morton simply could not solve Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano in the game, allowing four runs on two home runs by Soriano. He held the rest of the team's offense at Bay, finishing with four runs on seven hits and three walks allowed over six innings. Morton struck out six batters, a season-high, while throwing 60 of 99 pitches for strikes.
Morton took the loss to drop him to 1-2 on the season through five starts. He has a 3.38 ERA in 24 innings of work, with 18 strikeouts and nine walks. He will look to even his record up in his next start, scheduled for Friday against the Mets.