Morrow pitched his second shutout in four starts, blanking the Mets on three hits and leading the Toronto Blue Jays over New York 2-0 on Saturday.

”Morrow was sharp tonight,” New York’s Mike Baxter said. ”He made a lot of good pitches, he mixed well, elevated his fastball in the zone. He threw really well.”

Morrow (5-2) struck out eight and walked one to win for the fifth time in six outings. He has three career shutouts, including a victory over the Los Angeles Angels on May 3.

”I’m feeling pretty good,” Morrow said. ”As long as I’m locating my fastball, I think I’m going to have a good game.”

Morrow also benefited from a call in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Scott Hairston led off with a walk and went to third on Baxter’s one-out single. Baxter tried to stretch his hit into a double but was thrown out at second base by Jose Bautista, with shortstop Yunel Escobar applying the swipe tag. Replays confirmed that Baxter was not touched and should have been safe.

”We got into a good spot there,” said Baxter, who yelled in frustration at umpire Brian Knight before turning the argument over to manager Terry Collins.

”(Knight) said he thought (Escobar) tagged (Baxter) on the back,” Collins said. ”I thought if (Knight) didn’t have a good view of it (he should) ask and he said he couldn’t, so that was it. I pretty much had no argument after that.”

Blue Jays second baseman Kelly Johnson gave credit to Bautista, who picked up his third outfield assist.

”It was huge,” Johnson said. ”It was a scary situation. You’re looking at second and third with one out and the middle of their order (coming up). They still have (David) Wright on the bench. That was a huge defensive play from our best player.”

Rather than dealing with a potential Mets rally, Morrow swiftly ended the game by getting Daniel Murphy to line out to shortstop.

”That’s a tough one to lose,” Collins said.

Led by Morrow, Toronto matched its season high by winning its fourth in a row overall.

New York lost for the sixth time in nine games and saw starter Miguel Batista leave with a sore lower back after two scoreless innings.

The right-hander warmed up for the third but had to be replaced by righty Jeremy Hefner, who was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo before the game.

Batista said he tweaked a muscle in his back throwing a 3-2 cutter to Eric Thames in the second.

”I felt a pull there and it felt funny,” Batista said. ”After that I felt it every pitch.”

Hefner (0-1) held the Blue Jays in check until the fifth, when ninth-place hitter Jeff Mathis singled with two outs. Kelly Johnson doubled to center and the ball got past Andres Torres for an error, allowing Mathis to score the opening run and sending Johnson to third. Escobar followed with an RBI single.

Despite taking the loss, Hefner’s outing left a good impression on his manager.

”I applaud the job Jeremy Hefner did, getting here this morning and giving us that kind of an outing is tremendous,” Collins said. ”If Miguel can’t start, he’s going in that spot.”

Wright, whose .409 batting average is highest in the majors, was held out of the lineup. Collins said the third baseman is still slowed by an illness and could be kept out of Sunday’s series finale.

Morrow set down the first seven batters he faced before Ronny Cedeno singled through the right side in the third. Unfazed, Morrow retired the next 13 Mets batters in order, a streak that ended with Lucas Duda’s two-out double to right in the seventh. Morrow promptly ended the inning by striking out Ike Davis.

NOTES: Mets INF Jordany Valdespin was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Hefner. … Mets OF Jason Bay (fractured rib) hit off a tee Saturday and remains on track to resume full batting practice Monday in Pittsburgh. … Blue Jays LHP Evan Crawford (back spasms) was not available. … Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero went 0 for 4 Friday in his first game action at extended spring training, splitting time between the outfield and DH.

“Thats probably the best game Ive ever seen pitched, and Ive seen a lot of games — over 3,000,” Leyland said. “I dont know how to explain that.

“Anybody who was here last night probably saw one of the best games pitched in baseball, I would think.”

As talented and driven as Verlander is, it doesn’t always mean it’s easy for Leyland to just throw his ace out there and let him go.

“I have to be careful with him,” Leyland said. “He thinks he can throw 175 pitches, and hes dead serious. I told him that will never happen as long as Im here.

“Most guys go from 95 (miles per hour), and by the seventh, theyre down to 92 or 91. This guy goes from 92 to 94 to 95 in the middle to 99 to 100 late. Thats why its a freaky thing. Ive never seen anything like it. Ive never seen a better pitched game than that one last night — never.

“If you watch Verlander sometimes, the average person sees 98 (speed) on the scoreboard, but they dont see the 98 I see. I see the difference between the 98 thats more effort, and the 98 thats effortless. Theres a major difference in that, and thats what he did last night.

“When he got to 98-100, it was fluid. It wasnt muscling way up. If you watch close, you can see it. Its amazing to me.”

Leyland said he offered Verlander the lineup card from the game, but he didn’t want it. That doesn’t mean Verlander wasn’t happy with the way he pitched.

“Not the best stuff, but the command was pretty good,” Verlander said. “I definitely rank it right up there with some of the best pitching performances I’ve had, maybe No. 1.

“That’s why I say no-hitters are not easy to come by. Sometimes they come when you least expect it, when you don’t have your best stuff.

“Yesterday was just an example of that. I pitched about as well as I can, and they scratched a hit. What are you going to do?”

Verlander threw his first no-hitter in 2007 against the Milwaukee Brewers and his second last year in Toronto.

“I think I’m a better pitcher now than the one against Milwaukee,” Verlander said. “I thought the one against Milwaukee was basically pure stuff as opposed to this one, did a lot of pitching, especially early on in the game.”

Pirates reliever Jason Grilli was a member of the Tigers when Verlander threw that first no-hitter.

“He’s impressive every time he’s out there,” Grilli said. “I saw him when he threw his first one, so it was kind of ironic to be on the other side in the other bullpen seeing him throw another one.

“He definitely was good when he came up, but you can definitely see he’s a matured pitcher as well. He’s one of the best. I’m sure he’ll have plenty more chances to do what he was doing last night.”

Grilli agreed that Verlander is much more of a pitcher than he was that June night in 2007.

“What he does in the sixth, seventh, eighth inning, he used to do that right out of the gate,” Grilli said. “I think it’s just maturing in the game. You know your limitations and you know what your capabilities are.

“If you stay around long enough, you have the opportunity to do that. It was definitely impressive.”

Verlander still feels he has another level to reach to become the best, which is what he aims to be.

“If I can pitch every game like I did last time,” Verlander said. “That’s not that far off. I’m not saying a one-hitter. I’m just saying the way I pitch.

“I can pitch like that many times, and it’s not going to be a one-hit shutout. If I can continue to pitch like that consistently, that’s obviously what everybody’s looking for, more consistency.”

As good as he is on the mound, Verlander is still looking for his first major-league hit. In 20 at-bats in interleague play, he has not managed to get one. Maybe this will be the year.

“God, I hope so so I can get the monkey off my back,” Verlander said with a laugh. “I think when the first one comes, it’s going to be a rain, a parade of hits.”

Verlander took batting practice with the rest of the pitchers before Saturday’s game, even managing to hit a home run.

“I’m just out there the first day just taking easy hacks, not trying to hurt myself or anything, just nice and smooth,” Verlander said. “I think I’m 0-for-25 or something in my career, something like that, I don’t know.

“Miggy and Prince both went through those streaks this year, so I’m right up there with the best hitters in the league.”
VALVERDE, JACKSON UPDATE

It’s beginning to look more and more like Jose Valverde (lower back strain) and Austin Jackson (mild abdominal strain) won’t play until next week’s series in Cleveland, which starts Tuesday.

“Valverde is day-to-day, but he is going to throw (Sunday),” Leyland said. “Hes going to throw and see how he feels. If he felt great, he may be available (Sunday). I doubt that. I think itll be Tuesday in Cleveland.

Leyland said he’s not going to take any chances with Jackson, who is also day-to-day and planned to take a few swings off a tee and do some throwing to test the injury on Saturday.

“I guess try to push it as far as it can go, and if it starts hurting at all, kind of back it off a little bit,” Jackson said. “I think the main thing is to see how far I can go with it, get a good gauge from that.”

CATCHING UP WITH GRILLI

Grilli, a native of Royal Oak, Mich., has had somewhat of a rocky road since leaving the Tigers in 2008, when he was traded to the Colorado Rockies.

In addition to his time with the Rockies, he’s had a couple of stints in the minors before ending up with the Pirates last season.

This season he’s 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA, fifth in the majors among relievers, and has 26 strikeouts. The Pirates are 12-4 in his 16 appearances.

Although Grilli — whose whose father, Steve, also played for the Tigers — had some good moments with the Tigers, he struggled at times and fans were not always kind. But Grilli has fond memories of his time in Detroit.

“It’s always hard when you’re departing somewhere where you’re getting some of that flak at the end, but I try to take away the positives, too,” Grilli said. “I had a chance at a World Series run here. I did some good things here, despite what some people may think.”

Grilli’s son Jayse was born when he was with the Tigers and is 4 years old now.

“He might be throwing strikes of a different kind,” Grilli said. “He’s into bowling. He just started loving it, and in the offseason, we go at least twice a week.”

Even though his career has had its ups and downs, Grilli is grateful to be in the big leagues.

“Life is good. I can’t complain,” Grilli said. “I’ve persevered through a lot of stuff, and I’m still wearing a jersey.”

“Thats probably the best game Ive ever seen pitched, and Ive seen a lot of games — over 3,000,” Leyland said. “I dont know how to explain that.

“Anybody who was here last night probably saw one of the best games pitched in baseball, I would think.”

As talented and driven as Verlander is, it doesn’t always mean it’s easy for Leyland to just throw his ace out there and let him go.

“I have to be careful with him,” Leyland said. “He thinks he can throw 175 pitches, and hes dead serious. I told him that will never happen as long as Im here.

“Most guys go from 95 (miles per hour), and by the seventh, theyre down to 92 or 91. This guy goes from 92 to 94 to 95 in the middle to 99 to 100 late. Thats why its a freaky thing. Ive never seen anything like it. Ive never seen a better pitched game than that one last night — never.

“If you watch Verlander sometimes, the average person sees 98 (speed) on the scoreboard, but they dont see the 98 I see. I see the difference between the 98 thats more effort, and the 98 thats effortless. Theres a major difference in that, and thats what he did last night.

“When he got to 98-100, it was fluid. It wasnt muscling way up. If you watch close, you can see it. Its amazing to me.”

Leyland said he offered Verlander the lineup card from the game, but he didn’t want it. That doesn’t mean Verlander wasn’t happy with the way he pitched.

“Not the best stuff, but the command was pretty good,” Verlander said. “I definitely rank it right up there with some of the best pitching performances I’ve had, maybe No. 1.

“That’s why I say no-hitters are not easy to come by. Sometimes they come when you least expect it, when you don’t have your best stuff.

“Yesterday was just an example of that. I pitched about as well as I can, and they scratched a hit. What are you going to do?”

Verlander threw his first no-hitter in 2007 against the Milwaukee Brewers and his second last year in Toronto.

“I think I’m a better pitcher now than the one against Milwaukee,” Verlander said. “I thought the one against Milwaukee was basically pure stuff as opposed to this one, did a lot of pitching, especially early on in the game.”

Pirates reliever Jason Grilli was a member of the Tigers when Verlander threw that first no-hitter.

“He’s impressive every time he’s out there,” Grilli said. “I saw him when he threw his first one, so it was kind of ironic to be on the other side in the other bullpen seeing him throw another one.

“He definitely was good when he came up, but you can definitely see he’s a matured pitcher as well. He’s one of the best. I’m sure he’ll have plenty more chances to do what he was doing last night.”

Grilli agreed that Verlander is much more of a pitcher than he was that June night in 2007.

“What he does in the sixth, seventh, eighth inning, he used to do that right out of the gate,” Grilli said. “I think it’s just maturing in the game. You know your limitations and you know what your capabilities are.

“If you stay around long enough, you have the opportunity to do that. It was definitely impressive.”

Verlander still feels he has another level to reach to become the best, which is what he aims to be.

“If I can pitch every game like I did last time,” Verlander said. “That’s not that far off. I’m not saying a one-hitter. I’m just saying the way I pitch.

“I can pitch like that many times, and it’s not going to be a one-hit shutout. If I can continue to pitch like that consistently, that’s obviously what everybody’s looking for, more consistency.”

As good as he is on the mound, Verlander is still looking for his first major-league hit. In 20 at-bats in interleague play, he has not managed to get one. Maybe this will be the year.

“God, I hope so so I can get the monkey off my back,” Verlander said with a laugh. “I think when the first one comes, it’s going to be a rain, a parade of hits.”

Verlander took batting practice with the rest of the pitchers before Saturday’s game, even managing to hit a home run.

“I’m just out there the first day just taking easy hacks, not trying to hurt myself or anything, just nice and smooth,” Verlander said. “I think I’m 0-for-25 or something in my career, something like that, I don’t know.

“Miggy and Prince both went through those streaks this year, so I’m right up there with the best hitters in the league.”
VALVERDE, JACKSON UPDATE

It’s beginning to look more and more like Jose Valverde (lower back strain) and Austin Jackson (mild abdominal strain) won’t play until next week’s series in Cleveland, which starts Tuesday.

“Valverde is day-to-day, but he is going to throw (Sunday),” Leyland said. “Hes going to throw and see how he feels. If he felt great, he may be available (Sunday). I doubt that. I think itll be Tuesday in Cleveland.

Leyland said he’s not going to take any chances with Jackson, who is also day-to-day and planned to take a few swings off a tee and do some throwing to test the injury on Saturday.

“I guess try to push it as far as it can go, and if it starts hurting at all, kind of back it off a little bit,” Jackson said. “I think the main thing is to see how far I can go with it, get a good gauge from that.”

CATCHING UP WITH GRILLI

Grilli, a native of Royal Oak, Mich., has had somewhat of a rocky road since leaving the Tigers in 2008, when he was traded to the Colorado Rockies.

In addition to his time with the Rockies, he’s had a couple of stints in the minors before ending up with the Pirates last season.

This season he’s 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA, fifth in the majors among relievers, and has 26 strikeouts. The Pirates are 12-4 in his 16 appearances.

Although Grilli — whose whose father, Steve, also played for the Tigers — had some good moments with the Tigers, he struggled at times and fans were not always kind. But Grilli has fond memories of his time in Detroit.

“It’s always hard when you’re departing somewhere where you’re getting some of that flak at the end, but I try to take away the positives, too,” Grilli said. “I had a chance at a World Series run here. I did some good things here, despite what some people may think.”

Grilli’s son Jayse was born when he was with the Tigers and is 4 years old now.

“He might be throwing strikes of a different kind,” Grilli said. “He’s into bowling. He just started loving it, and in the offseason, we go at least twice a week.”

Even though his career has had its ups and downs, Grilli is grateful to be in the big leagues.

“Life is good. I can’t complain,” Grilli said. “I’ve persevered through a lot of stuff, and I’m still wearing a jersey.”

Chulk was called up and given another chance at the major-league level on April 28, as the Brewers needed arms to reinforce their bullpen. But after struggling this season with a 10.00 ERA in seven games, Chulk was designated for assignment on Saturday. In his place, the Brewers called up left-handed reliever Juan Perez, giving him a spot on the team’s 40-man roster.

“We felt like we needed the help in the bullpen,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said on Saturday. “Vinnie had pitched three days in a row he wasn’t going to be able to pitch today. This gives us a guy more specific to maybe what we need. We’ve come across a lot of left-handed lineups, and we’re getting stuck in that middle relief part, where we’re having to put in some right-handers against some lefties that we’d rather not do.”

Perez has been particularly impressive for Triple-A Nashville this season with a 0.84 ERA in 10 23 innings worth of action. In that time, Perez averaged nearly 1.5 strikeouts per inning and was particularly effective with getting out left-handers with what Roenicke referred to as his “funkiness”. Last year, in five innings for the Phillies, Perez struck out eight batters and registered a 3.60 ERA in limited work.

The left-hander had experienced some trouble with his command with a high walk rate in the past, but Roenicke said that he’s improved significantly on that front.

“He’s got good stuff along with the funkiness,” Roenicke said. “When I say he’s a left-handed guy, he’s been getting out right-handers too. But if we come into an inning, we’ve got two out of three guys are left-handed, we feel good about him getting out of the inning. But I liked what I saw in spring training. He’s got some walks in him, but when he’s throwing strikes, he’s a tough guy to hit.”

Still, designating a guy like Chulk, who had fought so hard to get back to the major league level, was a tough decision for Roenicke and the Brewers’ brass.

“It wasn’t a tough conversation, but it was tough when we were thinking about doing it,” Roenicke said. “We all know what he had went through, and it’s been a long time since he had been back. Again, some of the ideal situations to put in a reliever haven’t been there. We’re just not going deep enough to get to that part where we get more specific with what we do with our guys.”

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Chulk was called up and given another chance at the major-league level on April 28, as the Brewers needed arms to reinforce their bullpen. But after struggling this season with a 10.00 ERA in seven games, Chulk was designated for assignment on Saturday. In his place, the Brewers called up left-handed reliever Juan Perez, giving him a spot on the team’s 40-man roster.

“We felt like we needed the help in the bullpen,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said on Saturday. “Vinnie had pitched three days in a row he wasn’t going to be able to pitch today. This gives us a guy more specific to maybe what we need. We’ve come across a lot of left-handed lineups, and we’re getting stuck in that middle relief part, where we’re having to put in some right-handers against some lefties that we’d rather not do.”

Perez has been particularly impressive for Triple-A Nashville this season with a 0.84 ERA in 10 23 innings worth of action. In that time, Perez averaged nearly 1.5 strikeouts per inning and was particularly effective with getting out left-handers with what Roenicke referred to as his “funkiness”. Last year, in five innings for the Phillies, Perez struck out eight batters and registered a 3.60 ERA in limited work.

The left-hander had experienced some trouble with his command with a high walk rate in the past, but Roenicke said that he’s improved significantly on that front.

“He’s got good stuff along with the funkiness,” Roenicke said. “When I say he’s a left-handed guy, he’s been getting out right-handers too. But if we come into an inning, we’ve got two out of three guys are left-handed, we feel good about him getting out of the inning. But I liked what I saw in spring training. He’s got some walks in him, but when he’s throwing strikes, he’s a tough guy to hit.”

Still, designating a guy like Chulk, who had fought so hard to get back to the major league level, was a tough decision for Roenicke and the Brewers’ brass.

“It wasn’t a tough conversation, but it was tough when we were thinking about doing it,” Roenicke said. “We all know what he had went through, and it’s been a long time since he had been back. Again, some of the ideal situations to put in a reliever haven’t been there. We’re just not going deep enough to get to that part where we get more specific with what we do with our guys.”

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Activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, Young contributed a two-run double in the D-backs’ 6-4 victory at Kansas City in their first interleague game of the season. Young, who suffered a slight tear in a right shoulder ligament when he ran into the fence while making a catch April 17, served as the designated hitter.

The D-backs were 7-3 at the time Young got hurt, and he was all over the NL leader boards. Young was second in the NL in home runs (five) and OPS (1.397), third in batting average (.410) and tied for third in RBIs (13) when he went on the DL.

The D-backs were 10-18 in his absence, and it is safe to say his return provided a psychological lift.

“Absolutely. He has been a big part of this club for seven years. Just his mere presence in the clubhouse is good for the guys. We were playing pretty darn good until he went down,” general manager Kevin Towers said.

“It’s not to say when ‘C.Y.’ comes back we are going to try to ride his back. I think will be good for the guys. I think the guys enjoy him being around.”

Young was 0 for 2 with an RBI in his one rehab game at Class AAA Reno on Thursday after going 4 for 13 with a home run, three doubles and seven RBIs at Class A Visalia. Young played the outfield in two rehab games and also served as a DH.

“I wouldn’t say he is back 100 percent with the arm. I’ve watched him a few times. There is still enough carry on it. If there is any discomfort on the shoulder, it’s usually throwing more so than swinging,” Towers said.

NOTES, QUOTES

– SS Willie Bloomquist’s three-hit game Friday gave him eight hits, all singles, in his last three starts. He scored two runs Friday, and his RBI single drove in the first run in a four-run eighth inning that gave the D-backs the lead in Colorado on Thursday. He has raised his batting average 42 points to .254 in that time.

– RHP J.J. Putz recorded his second save in as many days, giving up only a two-out walk in the bottom of the ninth inning before striking out Alex Gordon to end the game Friday. Putz got out of a no-out, bases-loaded situation in the ninth inning of a 9-7 victory over the Rockies on Thursday when he struck out pitcher Alex White as a pinch hitter and got Wilin Rosario to ground into a double play.

–RHP Brad Ziegler won his second game in as many days to improve to 3-1, although it came after he failed to hold a 4-3 lead in the last of the seventh before the D-backs rallied in the eighth. LHP Joe Saunders, 4-0 against Kansas City in six career appearances, was in line for the victory.

– C Miguel Montero had three RBIs and doubled twice, the second of which drove in two runs to break a 4-4 tie in the top of the eighth inning.

BY THE NUMBERS: 8-4 — The D-backs’ record in games CF Chris Young has played this season.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “Just his mere presence in the clubhouse is good for the guys. We were playing pretty darn good until he went down.” — D-backs general manager Kevin Towers on the return of CF Chris Young.