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McGowan tosses one-hit gem as Blue Jays blank Rockies

Jun 24, 2007 - 9:19 PM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Dustin McGowan came within three outs of history Sunday.

McGowan didn't allow a hit through eight innings before settling on a one-hitter, and Frank Thomas belted career home run No. 499 as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Colorado Rockies, 5-0.

Jeff Baker singled to center field to lead off the ninth to thwart McGowan's bid to become the second Blue Jay to throw a no-hitter. Dave Stieb no-hit the Cleveland Indians on September 2, 1990.

"I was trying to keep my composure and not try to overthrow the ball," McGowan said. "I was a little disappointed to give up the hit, but you've got to give (Baker) credit - he put a good swing on the ball."

"He threw a fastball that started middle of the plate and started running a little bit, and I was able to get inside of it there," Baker said. "His stuff was electric. He was throwing 96-98 miles per hour, and everything was pretty much unhittable."

The 25-year-old McGowan (4-3), who didn't even have a complete game on his major-league resume, struck out seven and walked one on Sunday. McGowan's longest outing was 7 2/3 innings pitched against the New York Yankees on May 28.

"He was unbelievable, as close to perfect as you can be," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "You hate to say anybody's capable of that, but he's a kid that's the got the stuff where anytime he goes out there, he can shut you out. That's the kind of arm he has."

"My adrenaline started pumping a little bit walking off the field in the seventh inning. You could feel the energy from the crowd," said McGowan, who became the fifth Blue Jay to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning. "I was a little nervous (to start the ninth inning)."

The victory enabled Toronto (37-37) to complete its sweep of Colorado and even its record for the first time since May 1.

Before Baker's single, the closest the Rockies came to a hit was in the first.

Leadoff hitter Willy Taveras grounded a ball to short, but John McDonald made a nice play to nip Taveras at the bag. Taveras looked upset, and Colorado manager Clint Hurdle came out to argue the call.

"The no-hitter could have been over in the first inning," Taveras said. "It's tough - if you go to an umpire and tell him what you think, they might get mad and throw you out of the game."

Sunday's effort was far better than McGowan's last outing. The righthander surrendered a season-high six runs along with eight hits in 1 1/3 innings in a 10-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

"He was under control all day long," Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun said. "He was hitting the mitt with just about everything today. I was hoping and praying (for a no-hitter) - it would have been a huge moment for him and for the organization."

With McGowan handcuffing Colorado batters, Thomas and Vernon Wells provided the exclamation points for Toronto's offense.

Thomas, who also homered on Saturday, hammered a blast off Rockies righthander Josh Fogg to lead off the fourth inning. He is now one homer shy of becoming the 21st player to hit 500 career home runs.

"I just got a feeling (Fogg) was trying to get ahead (in the count)," Thomas said. "The ball was up a little bit, and it was a good pitch to take out of the park.

"I wish I could have hit another (home run) because I wanted to do it in front of the home fans. That would have been unbelievable - a no-hitter and 500 on the same day."

Wells blasted a three-run homer in the third and Aaron Hill doubled to center to plate Matt Stairs in the sixth to cap the scoring.

"I got a changeup that was up in the zone," Wells said. "Lately, I haven't been able to pull the trigger on some hanging stuff, but this felt good just to see it and hit it."

Fogg (3-6) allowed five runs and seven hits and struck out four through six innings. The righthander was coming off his best effort this season, yielding only a run and four hits in seven innings in a 3-1 win against the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

After allowing just a total of five runs in a three-game sweep of New York earlier this week, Rockies pitchers have been tagged for 22 in their last three against the Blue Jays.