Brandon Morrow wasn’t about to hang his head after coming inches away from a no-hitter. The Blue Jays pitcher still tossed his first shutout — first complete game, in fact — and struck out a career-high 17 batters.
“Those things combined were more than enough to overcome the feeling of the missed no-hitter,” said Morrow, who allowed only Evan Longoria’s single with two outs in the ninth inning of a 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay yesterday in Toronto.
“That would have been a great feat, but I’ll start at a complete-game, one-hit shutout with 17 strikeouts.”
In the ninth, Jason Bartlett flied out to center, Ben Zobrist walked on four pitches and Carl Crawford popped out to bring up Longoria, who took a shaky swing at a 1-1 pitch and hit a grounder the other way. Second baseman Aaron Hill scooted to his left and made a dive as the ball took its third hop, and it fell out of his glove and trickled away as he hit the ground.
Morrow promptly stuck out Dan Johnson swinging to end it.
Vernon Wells drove in the only run for Toronto before leaving with a dislocated toe, which happened when he made a leaping catch against the wall in the sixth inning to preserve Morrow’s no-hit bid.
Twins 5, Indians 4
In Cleveland, Jim Thome hit a two-run shot for career homer No. 578 to propel the Twins.
Orioles 4, White Sox 3
In Baltimore, Jeremy Guthrie outpitched Mark Buehrle, and the surging Orioles won for the fifth time in six games under new manager Buck Showalter.
Tigers 9, Angels 4
In Detroit, Johnny Damon drove in three runs for the Tigers.
A’s 3, Rangers 2
In Oakland, Kurt Suzuki hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, and the Athletics beat the first-place Rangers.
Mariners 3, Royals 2
In Seattle, Casey Kotchman’s two-run single in the sixth gave the Mariners the lead for good.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Braves 6, Giants 3
In Atlanta, Derek Lowe pitched into the sixth inning before leaving with an injury and David Ross hit a two-run homer to lead the Braves.
Reds 11, Cubs 4
In Chicago, Joey Votto and Jonny Gomes scored four runs apiece to back a strong start by Travis Wood, and the Reds beat the Cubs.
Padres 10, D’backs 1
In Phoenix, Mat Latos pitched six scoreless innings in a combined three-hitter and the Padres beat the Diamondbacks.
Rockies 8, Pirates 4
In Pittsburgh, Carlos Gonzalez hit his 25th homer among his four hits, and the Rockies salvaged a split of a four-game series against the Pirates.
Dodgers 8, Nationals 3
In Los Angeles, Ted Lilly overcame a rough start to win his second straight outing with the Dodgers.
Brewers 11, Astros 6
In Milwaukee, Casey McGehee hit a three-run homer, helping the Brewers complete a three-game sweep.