stlcardinals.com
May 14, 2002

Morris Magnificent Under Pressure

By Matthew Leach

ST. LOUIS -- This is what an ace does. He shakes off the distractions, ignores the pressure, keeps his composure and picks up big wins for his team.

Matt Morris was every bit the ace for the Cardinals on Monday night. In as pressure-filled an environment as you're likely to see in early May, Morris silenced the Cubs' bats for his first shutout of the year, a 3-0 St. Louis win. It was the fourth victory in the last five games for the Cardinals, and the second straight win for their ace.

"He was great, man," said catcher Mike DiFelice. "What you saw was pretty much the deal. If you watched the game, it's pretty obvious how he did. It was a big day. Sometimes with that added pressure you never know what's gonna happen. But he was great."

The "added pressure" came from all directions. The Cards dipped into their bullpen for eight innings on Sunday. They were battling their archrivals, who had an ace of their own on the mound in Kerry Wood. And controversy had swirled between these two teams since St. Louis pitching coach Dave Duncan accused the Cubs of stealing signs in Morris' last start.

For a 17-20 team, it doesn't get much bigger. And for Morris, who admits he sometimes loses his concentration and gets mad when circumstances turn against him, it was a major test. He passed.

"I'm still trying to figure it out," Morris said. "You've just got to concentrate on the right things. And that's pitch-by-pitch, batter-by-batter. Sometimes you lose focus. I was able to lock it in. I knew I had to today and we benefited with a win."

Morris has been brilliant lately after a brief stretch in which he struggled. In his last three starts, he's gone 25 innings and given up just two runs, for an ERA of 0.72. Both of those runs came on a first-inning homer by Sosa in Chicago last week, meaning that Morris is working on a 16-inning shutout streak.

And that in turn means he has managed to get Sosa out several times. The Cubs superstar went 1-for-4 with a single and two strikeouts on Monday.

"Sammy's a great hitter," Morris said. "I'm trying to get him out. He got me there in the first and I threw him a couple curveballs after that. I think that's what he was looking for that last at-bat. I was able to sneak one by him but that doesn't happen often."

Morris had his impressive arsenal going on Monday, especially that curveball, which is one of the best in the game. The Cubs offense, which has struggled mightily in recent days, had little chance.

"He leaves you just a little crack open every now and then, then he pitches out of it," said Chicago manager Don Baylor. "His breaking ball was outstanding today. He threw it any time he wanted to. A lot of times, you know a 3-2 breaking ball is coming, but you really can't convince yourself to look for it. He throws it for a strike, and his fastball is 93-94 (miles per hour)."

Morris even kept the scribes and the purists happy, combining with Wood and two Cubs relievers to keep the game time to a Cards season-low two hours, 12 minutes.

He threw 118 pitches, 75 of them for strikes. He was almost never in trouble, with only one inning where he allowed more than one baserunner. And he permitted the Cubs just one hit after the third inning.

"I don't know how long it is, how long it was," Morris said. "I don't keep track of it. I know you guys who have got deadlines do, but myself, I'm just trying to make pitches and get outs. I don't care if it takes five hours or two hours. I'm not out there trying to speed up the game, I'm just trying to get outs."

That was the theme of the night in the Redbird clubhouse. Not the dominating individual performance; not the team's No. 1 starter notching his first complete game. The Cardinals are starting to win games again. They crept back to within two games of .500 and remained 4 1/2 games out of first place.

Morris wasn't even that sold on going back out to finish his gem.

"With a guy like (closer Jason Isringhausen) out there, I would have been glad to hand it off to him. But I was feeling strong and (manager) Tony (La Russa) gave me a chance to go back out there and I tried to live up to it."

Not only did he live up to the opportunity, he lived up to his mantle as staff ace.