Indians pitcher AJ Morris with complete game against Bulls

- Megan Filipowski

For Indianapolis Indians rookie starter A.J Morris, Thursday night’s 4-o victory over the Durham Bulls  was special.

Not only was Morris appearing in front of the Tribe’s home crowd at Victory Field for the first time, but he pitched so spectacularly that he earned a complete-game shutout win.

Morris faced 33 Bulls’ batters in his nine-inning, six-hit appearance. He struck out seven of them and walked only one. His named is etched in Indians history as he is just the ninth pitcher to pitch a complete game shutout in the Victory Field era.

He joined the Tribe on June 7 after starting the season with the Double-A Altoona Curve and made his first start on the road against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He earned the loss in that game, giving up two runs in six innings. But on Thursday night, he helped lead the Tribe to their fifth straight victory.

Morris’ counterpart for the Bulls was Jeremy Hellickson, who has spent time in the Majors with the Tampa Bay Rays and was sent to Durham for a rehab assignment. Thursday was his first rehab start and he gave up three runs in the first and another in the third.

Matt Hague’s nickname “The Hit Collector” fit perfectly on Thursday night as was some how involved in all four of the Tribe’s runs. He went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and a run scored.

Hague singled in two runs in the first after Robert Andino and Chris Dickerson both got on base with one out in the inning. Brent Morel drove in Hague with a single before the end of the inning. It was a double by Hague in the third that drove in the Tribe’s last run.

With Gregory Polanco joining the Pittsburgh Pirates, Dickerson was moved from the leadoff spot to the three-hole in the lineup and has adjusted nicely. In four games, he’s batting 5-for-13 with one RBI and five runs scored.

One of Morris’ teammates from the Curve, Nick Kingham joined the Tribe earlier this week and will making his first Triple-A start and appearance on Friday night. He made 12 starts with Altoona earning a 1-7 record with a 3.04 ERA. The game is scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m.