Morris makes most of fresh start with Hillcats

One can’t blame Bryan Morris for trying to find a positive spin to the recent events that led the Pirates to suspend him for more than a week. But as the Hillcats pitcher returned to the mound for the first time since the July 30 incident that triggered the suspension, he did just that, calling the last few weeks of the regular season a “fresh start.”

And with Pirates director of development Kyle Stark in attendance Wednesday at City Stadium, Morris was focused and determined, working into the seventh inning in Lynchburg’s 6-5 win against Kinston, earning his first victory since June 18.

Morris was fairly sharp, allowing six hits and two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking three. His season ERA dropped from 5.91 to 5.50 and, more importantly, he found a way to work through some difficult situations and keep his team in the game.

Afterward, Stark spoke to Morris in the Hillcats’ clubhouse after the game, and all sides agree the suspension is now part of the past.

“He did well with what he’s been working on and with what we’ve challenged him to do,” Stark said. “Both from a pitching standpoint and from a professional standpoint.”

Morris’ progress is of the utmost performance to the parent club, because the 22-year-old right-hander was one of the key parts of the trade that sent Jason Bay from Pittsburgh to Boston and Manny Ramirez from Boston to Los Angeles last season. It was one of the first major deals orchestrated by Neal Huntington in his first year as Pittsburgh’s general manager, and one of the first Pirate fans are judging him on.

Morris entered the season ranked fifth on Baseball America’s list of Pirates’ prospects, but he’s hardly lived up to that billing. He missed two-plus months with a shoulder injury and has yet to find a consistent groove. So the “fresh start” tack is probably a good one for him to take. He likely has four starts left in the regular season, which gives him four more chances to impress the Pirates’ brass before the playoffs begin.

“I’ve just got to finish strong and try to improve toward next year, and improve toward the playoffs,” Morris said.

Kinston, which had a seven-game win streak snapped, took a 3-0 lead in the third inning, a frame in which Morris threw 22 pitches. He came back focused in the fourth and retired the next six batters, throwing seven pitches in the fourth and six in the fifth.

“After the third, he started commanding the strike zone, getting ahead, making pitches,” Hillcats pitching coach Wally Whitehurst said. “He made it easy for himself.”

Morris got a lot of help from second baseman Chase d’Arnaud, who hit a three-run double in the sixth and a two-run home run in the ninth. The double gave Lynchburg a 4-3 lead, and the homer proved to be valuable insurance, as Kinston scored twice in the ninth on Hillcats closer R.J. Rodriguez, who moved into a tie for second in club history with his 25th save.

“I definitely wasn’t trying to do too much,” d’Arnaud said. “I just had the same approach that I’ve had all year. I just saw my pitches tonight.”