By: Stephen Patterson
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brandon Morrow came one out short of pitching a no-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays in the final game of their three game series. It was Morrow's first complete game, as well as his first shut out. He also struck out 17 batters, which is his career high. While he lost his chance to be the sixth pitcher this season to toss a no- hitter, Morrow still seemed happy with the performance. Toronto swept the series with Tampa after today's 1-0 win. Their season series is now tied at 6-6.
Tampa Bay star Evan Longoria broke up Morrow's no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning. The Rays are used to being no-hit this season, having been the victims of Dallas Braden's perfect game and a no-hitter by Edwin Jackson while he was still with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The loss was Tampa Bay's fifth consecutive, which is their longest losing streak of the season. Longoria's sole hit at least saved the team of the embarrassment of being no-hit for a third time this season.
Longoria's hit came on a 1-1 pitch, and bounced out of the glove of Toronto second baseman Aaron Hill and trickled away, and official scorer Dave Perkins immediately ruled the ball a hit. After the game, Hill said he wished he "could have gotten an error or something for it. Unfortunately that's just the way it is." Perkins said he wouldn't lose any sleep over the call, feeling confident there wasn't an error on the play.Vernon Wells drove in the only run for the Blue Jays with his first inning single, allowing Yunel Escobar to score from third. Wells left the game later in the game after suffering a dislocated toe making a leaping catch to save Morrow's no-hit bid in the sixth inning. X-rays revealed no further fractures in the area, and Wells will be reexamined on Monday to see how much time he will miss.
Morrow would've become only the second pitcher in franchise history to throw a no-hitter, joining Dave Stieb, who threw one almost twenty years ago. He also fell one strikeout short of breaking Toronto's franchise record of 18 set by Roger Clemens in August 1998. Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine was activated from the DL to start in place of the injured Jeff Niemann, and took loss after allowing three hits in 5 1/3 innings, including the RBI single by Wells.
