Rays' Charlie Morton not surprised Astros tied ALCS series

The Houston Astros found a way to climb out of an 0-3 hole in the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, and people are stunned. 

Rays right-hander Charlie Morton, though, wasn't surprised to see the Astros put up a fight. Houston had plenty of questions surrounding their abilities following their 2017 sign-stealing scandal, but Morton knew the team couldn't be taken lightly despite that. 

"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 played for the Astros in 2017, so it's not surprising to hear him laud his former team for their efforts this season. 

The 36-year-old is set to take the mound for the Rays on Saturday in a do-or-die Game 7. He's been solid this postseason, registering two wins with a 0.90 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in 10 innings. 

He pitched Game 2 against the Astros on Oct. 12, striking out five batters in five innings while allowing no runs on five hits. 

Houston is countering Morton with Lance McCullers Jr., who is 0-1 this postseason with a 4.09 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 11 innings.