Morris gets Game 2 call -- on short rest
St. Louis starting pitcher Matt Morris left the National League Championship Series elated that the Cardinals had advanced to the World Series and figuring he wouldn't take the mound again until Game 3 of the Fall Classic. Instead, Morris, who pitched Game 6 of the NLCS against Houston last Wednesday night, found out Friday night he would face the Red Sox in Game 2 -- on short rest.
"The last time I pitched on short rest was a Wiffle ball game when I was 10," Morris said yesterday. "Things change in a hurry. I thought I was going to have a better night's sleep [Friday] night. But it's all part of it. The season comes down to the final seven games."
Morris, who as a freshman at Seton Hall pitched for Hyannis in the Cape Cod League -- he said the Red Sox' Jason Varitek caught for him -- takes the mound tonight having gone 0-1 in three starts this postseason.
His lone decision came in a 4-0 loss to Los Angeles in Game 3 of the Division Series opposite an exceptional performance by Dodgers starter Jose Lima. That was his longest outing of the postseason (seven innings).
He will square off tonight against Curt Schilling in what should be a compelling contest before the series moves to St. Louis.
Morris, who had 22 wins in 2001, entered the season expected to be the Cardinals' ace, but he was maddeningly inconsistent, going 15-10 with a 4.72 earned run average, by far the highest of his career.
"There's nothing to rest for; it's all or nothing right now," said Morris. "I'm not saving myself for anything. I don't know what to expect, but I expect I will go out and make pitches. My body doesn't know at this point what short rest is."
In the NLCS, Morris twice opposed Houston's Pete Munro and came away with no-decisions in games St. Louis won. In Game 2 at Busch Stadium, Morris went 5 innings and gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits, 2 home runs, 5 walks, and 5 strikeouts. In Game 6, Morris also went 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, a homer, 3 walks, and a strikeout.
Morris said manager Tony La Russa's decision to pitch him in Game 2 at Fenway didn't catch him completely off guard. "After [Game 6] against the Astros, I thought there would be a chance I would pitch the second game here, and they would let [Jason] Marquis pitch at home," he said. "I don't know why, I just felt comfortable with that, and I was preparing myself.
"But after we clinched it, they told Marquis he was throwing. So I was able to take a deep breath and relax. But then [Friday night] the news changed. It's no different, I'm not unprepared, that's for sure."
La Russa said he will start Morris tonight in part because of his experience in postseason leading up to this year and because he wasn't taxed in his last start. "We had an edge and we decided to play it," La Russa said. "He pitched 80 pitches [in Game 6]. If he had pitched a normal game, and had to reach deeper, we couldn't have done it."
In 2001, Morris came up on the short end of a 1-0 duel with Schilling, then with Arizona, in Game 1 of the Division Series. In 2002, Morris appeared in three postseason games and went 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA. He won Game 1 of the Division Series against Arizona, allowing 1 earned run on 7 hits in 7 innings in a matchup against Randy Johnson. But he lasted just 4 1/3 innings in a 9-6 loss to San Francisco in Game 1 of the NLCS that year and tied an LCS record by allowing seven earned runs.
Marquis, 15-7 with a 3.71 ERA this season and 0-0 with a 7.36 ERA this postseason, had pitched just two innings in the postseason before this year.
Morris figures he'll have his work cut out for him, no matter how much rest he has.
"They're dangerous from one through nine," said Morris. "They have guys who can hit for average, hit for power, move guys over. We had a tough Division Series, a tough NLCS, and we're not expecting this to be any different.
"I get a great opportunity to pitch in a World Series game, and I plan to take advantage of it."
