Rays' Morton: Assuming Astros aren't good is 'just ignorant'

Many people are stunned the Houston Astros have climbed out of an 0-3 hole in the American League Championship Series. Charlie Morton isn't in that group.

The Tampa Bay Rays right-hander believes the Astros are a very talented club despite questions about their abilities heading into 2020 following the electronic sign-stealing scandal, which had taken place during the 2017 season and in parts of 2018.

"For me, it just goes without saying: If you assumed that the Astros weren't going to be a good team, if they weren’t going to put together good at-bats, it’s just ignorant - it was just a wrong mentality to have," Morton said Friday, according to Tyler Kepner of The New York Times. "I'm not surprised by what they've done; I'm not surprised by what they did in the wild card or the division series - because they're good. They're really good."

Morton, the starter for Saturday's do-or-die Game 7, pitched the last four innings of the 2017 World Series for the Astros. He registered a win and recorded the final out against the Los Angeles Dodgers to help Houston win its first championship in franchise history.

The 36-year-old hurler said in February 2020 he regretted 'not doing more' to stop the Astros' illegal sign-stealing when he was a member of the team.