Before the sky opened and sent the fans occupying the exposed lower bowl of Camden Yards for cover, it was Charlie Morton raining blows on the Los Angeles Angels. His looping curveball fell into the strike zone at regular intervals, freezing batters or inducing a windstorm of flailing bats.

This was Morton at his best — the sort of display rarely experienced this season.

He pitched a gem that was nonetheless cut short because of the second of two rain delays that befell Camden Yards. In total, there were two hours and 16 minutes of waiting. When baseball was played, however, Morton left an impression in an eventual 2-0 victory.

Midway through the worst season of Morton’s 18-year major league career, Friday night’s outing showed there is still something in the tank of the 41-year-old veteran. There have been flashes of that this season — but those have come too infrequently and Baltimore (28-40) has been left preaching belief in its $15 million offseason signing despite little substantive reason for it until recently.

History dictated belief. Morton has figured out how to pitch in the majors this long; adaptation, then, is practically second nature. To adapt this time required more soul-searching than an alteration in pitch usage, but the common denominator of Morton’s better outings has been his fastball command.

“Man,” catcher Maverick Handley said, “I feel like he’s really hitting his stride.”

If Morton can place that fastball, his curveball — a staple since his career resurrected in 2017 with the Houston Astros — plays better. There have been times this season, as well, when Morton’s curveball was unpredictable out of his hand.

Both pitches worked to good effect Friday.

“For me, it’s landing the fastball, landing the breaking ball,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “You saw him tonight run some fastballs inside, which just made the breaking ball that much more devastating at times.”

The curveball usage in the first inning was especially impressive, and it came at a critical time once the leadoff man walked and Nolan Schanuel followed with a single. With two on and no outs, Morton painted the edges against Mike Trout. His two sinkers down and in caught the zone, and a high-and-outside four-seam fastball set up the dagger: a knee-buckling called third strike with a curveball on the inside corner.

That was just the start of an impressive display. Eight of the first nine outs Morton recorded were via the strikeout, and his curveball proved deadly. One of them, to Schanuel, had so much back-foot bite to the left-handed hitter that it actually hit Schanuel’s foot. But Schanuel swung through it first for strike three.

“Honestly, I don’t like hitting people,” Morton said in earnestness. “That has happened more than a few times, and it’s like, ‘man.’ Because part of it, I’m sure, is a reaction, a defensive thing.”

In Morton fashion, he unpacked that further with thoughtfulness: “I have a tremendous amount of respect for guys that I face in the box because, it’s like, I know what it took to get there onto that field. I know what it takes to stay there on that field. Not as a position player, but I know, right? So I’m on the mound, you’re in the box. I know what it took for us to be here in this moment together. I hate hitting guys, but sometimes I just snap that thing and it clips people and sometimes they swing.”

The Angels put traffic on the bases, including a pair of singles in the fourth. Morton, though, struck out Baltimore native LaMonte Wade Jr. and forced two ground balls to escape that jam. And in the fifth Morton matched his season high in strikeouts (10) and whiffs (16).

According to MLB.com, Morton is only the second Orioles pitcher to throw five or more shutout innings with 10 or more strikeouts aged 34 or older. The other was Mike Cuellar in 1975. And Morton has a 2.45 ERA since May 10 — for one month, he has been solid.

Morton’s not alone. With the shutout Friday, the Orioles’ team ERA dropped below 5.00 for the first time since April 20. It’s 4.93.

For the past four starts, Morton has worked with Handley. He spoke positively of the young catcher who has played only 15 major league games, commending him for his commitment to learning. A few days ago, Handley asked Morton if he could catch his bullpen session. That’s not a typical ask — there are dedicated bullpen catchers for a reason.

“It just shows his desire and willingness to develop and develop a rapport and just kind of throwing himself in the mix. ’Cause you don’t really have many guys who are catching who are like, ‘Hey man, I’ll come catch a ’pen.’ But I think he has a desire to get better.”

Handley also values the time he has spent with Morton, although he added a jest in his praise. “He’s a funny guy. I think he’s got me by a couple years. But I like to think I’m just on his maturity level. Maybe he’s down on my maturity level.”

Morton had a narrow lead with which to work, but it was enough. In the second inning, Ryan O’Hearn continued his All-Star-caliber season with his 10th homer, a rocket to the flag court in right field. Ramón Laureano contributed another solo shot against right-hander Jack Kochanowicz.

But the Orioles couldn’t add on. They loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh and stranded the three runners. It put pressure on the relievers, yet they held — Yennier Cano, Gregory Soto, Bryan Baker and Félix Bautista all followed Morton’s lead.

“Our bullpen is nasty,” Handley said. “All those guys are upper 90s with nasty stuff. Not to put pressure on them, but that’s what I expected from them.”

The stout pitching performance led Baltimore to its second shutout of the year and its first since May 2. The fans who stuck around late into Friday night were rewarded with some of the Orioles’ best pitching all season.

This article has been updated.