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 Jays pitcher Brandon Morrow recorded his third win in August after defeating the Tigers on Saturday. (QMI Agency/Dave Abel) |
That near no-hitter authored by Brandon Morrow three weeks ago may turn out to be a gift that keeps on giving for the Blue Jays. It's clear now that in the wake of that masterpiece, Morrow has stepped up to a new level, setting the bar higher for himself, and perhaps others on the Jays staff.
Saturday, he made his third start since that 1-0 gem in which he gave up his only hit with two outs in the ninth while striking out 17. In this one against the Tigers, Morrow gave up a run on four hits and a walk over six innings, striking out nine in a 5-2 victory.
In between was a throwaway start in Oakland and another work of art against the New York Yankees.
"The one-hitter (against Tampa) was outstanding," manager Cito Gaston said. "But the last time (against the Yankees) was outstanding as well, maybe better than he was against the Rays. This one here was probably on the back side. It wasn't as great as the other two but it was still good."
And that's how you measure Brandon Morrow these days: Six innings, one run, nine punchouts is just, well, average. Such a notion speaks to how far Morrow has come as a starting pitcher.
"It means a lot," Morrow said. "It's what I've been working toward the past couple of seasons, stretching out in the minor leagues (with Seattle) and coming here it's been really gratifying to pitch well.
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"I think it's just innings. I've been able to develop as a starting pitcher and work through some of the bad outings and learn what I have to do to be successful."
He entrusted a 5-1 lead to the bullpen after six innings. Jason Frasor and Brian Tallet took it to the ninth without incident but, uncharacteristically, Scott Downs made a bit of a mess. He got a pair of outs, but also gave up a run and left two baserunners on for Kevin Gregg.
Gregg's first order of business was to give up a two-run double to Detroit's Casper Wells before he struck out Ramon Santiago to end the unnecessary drama with the tying run stranded at second base.
The Blue Jays took advantage of Alfredo Figaro's first-start jitters to snatch a quick 3-0 lead. After Fred Lewis walked to lead off the bottom of the first, Yunel Escobar singled him to third. Both players scored on Jose Bautista's third triple of the season, stroked into the right-centre gap. Bautista scored on Vernon Wells' groundout.
The only damage the Tigers could do to Morrow came from the bat of Miguel Cabrera when he put a serious bruise on Morrow's 1-2 offering in the second inning, depositing the ball into the second deck in left field for his 33rd homer of the year.
The only fly in the ointment for Morrow this day was his lack of economy with his pitches. By the end of the sixth, he had used up 98 and that was enough for Gaston as he tries to protect the young arms in his stable.
"He's just one of those pitchers who is going to throw a lot of pitches because he strikes people out," Gaston said. "He's the type of guy who, when he finally gets a bunch of innings under his belt, you might have to let him go 120-125 pitches. Anytime you strike out a lot of guys, you're going to throw a lot of pitches."
Some pitchers as they mature, are capable of backing off the strikeout approach in favour of pitching to contact, which helps get pitchers deep into the game by letting his fielders do the work. It remains to be seen if Morrow is one of those types.
"I've been able to bear down and wriggle out of some jams, make some good pitches," said Morrow in reviewing his maturation as a starter.
"Before, I might have tried to go harder in those situations. Sometimes it's better to back off and make sure you make your pitch rather than just try to throw it by somebody. You can't strike a guy out on the first pitch. You've got to get ahead and I've been doing a lot better job of that."