50 Charlie Morton SP

Morton allowed one earned run on five hits and a walk while striking out nine across 6.2 innings Thursday against the Royals. He did not factor into the decision.

Morton allowed four extra-base hits but kept the Royals hitless with runners in scoring position to turn in a strong outing. He also generated an impressive 20 called strikes and 18 swinging strikes. Morton has had strong results early on, posting a 2.52 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 48 strikeouts across 39.1 innings. He'll like to build on that in his next start, likely to come Tuesday against Arizona.

Morton struck out five and allowed no runs on two hits and four walks over six innings in a victory over the Red Sox on Saturday.

The veteran right-hander has dealt with control problems all season, but his four free passes Saturday was a season high. Still, he worked around the extra traffic and didn't yield a run for his second start this season. Morton has minimized the damage from walks this season by holding opponents to a .184 batting average. He is 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 39 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. His next scheduled start is Thursday against the Royals on the road.

Morton will start Saturday's game against the Red Sox, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

As expected, Morton will start Saturday's contest after Friday's opener was rained out. Tyler Glasnow will toe the rubber for Sunday's series finale as a result.

Morton won't pitch Friday against the Red Sox after the game was postponed due to weather, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

The Rays may elect to push Morton back a day, meaning he'd pitch Saturday in Boston, weather permitting. Friday's contest has been rescheduled for June 8.

Morton didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Red Sox, coughing up five runs on five hits and two walks over six innings while striking out nine.

The big blow off the right-hander was a second-inning grand slam by Andrew Benintendi, but Morton was able to shake it off and shut Boston down for the next four frames, giving Tampa a chance to mount a comeback and eventually tie it up in the eighth. Morton will take a 3.38 ERA and 34:12 K:BB through 26.2 innings into his next start Friday, a rematch with the Red Sox in Boston.