Morton fans baker's dozen Bulls

Charlie Morton has pitched at five different levels in his seven-year Minor League career. His 13-strikeout performance Tuesday might get him to the one level he hasn't been yet.

Morton allowed one hit while fanning his career high over eight dominant innings as the Richmond Braves blanked the Durham Bulls, 7-0, at Athletic Park.

After allowing a single to Nathan Haynes, the first batter he faced, Morton (5-1) retired 14 in a row before issuing a two-out walk to Elliot Johnson in the fifth inning. Eight of the final 10 outs he recorded were strikeouts. He caught Josh Johnson looking to end the eighth with his 122nd pitch of the night.

"It was an inning by inning thing," Morton said. "I primarily threw my fastball to get ahead, but the slider was my out pitch."

It was the longest outing of the season for the 24-year-old right-hander, who ran his scoreless streak to 15 innings and has won four of his last five starts. He has allowed one run or fewer in five of his last seven outings and leads the International League with a 1.70 ERA.

"I felt pretty similar tonight to how I've felt for the better part of the year," Morton said. "The results aren't always there, though. Sometimes you have good stuff and don't get it done, and sometimes you have bad stuff and get it done."

The New Jersey native started his career with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves in 2002 and has moved up a level each year. He went 4-6 with a 4.29 ERA in 41 games, including six starts, for the Double-A Mississippi Braves last year.

Morton gave credit for his improvement to the Atlanta organization and the coaching staff he has been surrounded by.

"They kept advancing me even though my results weren't that good," he said. "All my pitching coaches have told me that I had the stuff to get it done and that it was going to come together for me someday. Confidence is definitely a factor in the success I've had recently and allowed me to look forward to pitching every fifth day.

Morton admits he has been more aggressive at the better comfort level.

"I'm having fun and it feels good. I just gotta keep it going," he said. "We've got some good arms in the system, and I trust [the organization's] judgment. It would be an amazing opportunity, but the goal isn't just to get there, it's to stay there. You gotta do something with the opportunity."

Vladimir Nunez allowed a single in the ninth to wrap up the two-hitter for Richmond (30-28), which has won five of six and moved to within a half-game of Durham (31-28) in the International League's Southern Division.

Barbaro Canizares went 3-for-5 with a solo homer and scored three times, Diory Hernandez hit a two-run homer and Mark Jurich doubled twice and had three RBIs for the Braves.

Bulls starter Ben Hendrickson (4-4) gave up five runs on nine hits and three walks while fanning three in five innings.