SEATTLE — Any questions now about the decision to make Brandon Morrow a starter?
Morrow, converted by the Seattle Mariners into a starting pitcher after nearly two seasons of superb relief, showed Friday that he can handle the long haul.
He rendered the New York Yankees hitless and nearly clueless through 72/3 innings of the Mariners’ 3-1 victory, losing the no-hitter on a hanging curveball with the final pitch he threw.
That happened with two out in the eighth inning when pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit doubled over Ichiro Suzuki’s outstretched glove in right-center field.
As the ball fell for the Yankees’ first hit of the game, the crowd at Safeco Field, more energized than at any game this season as the outs piled up, finally exhaled. So did Morrow’s teammates.
“From the fourth inning on, every time he got two strikes on a hitter, this place was electric,” closer J.J. Putz said. “Down in the bullpen, we were all getting chills.”
Morrow baffled the Yankees with a fastball that reached 97 mph, a sharp-breaking curve and a changeup that buckled knees. He threw them all for strikes, rarely centering a pitch near the middle of the strike zone.
“I was nervous at first,” Morrow said. “But I’d pitched here before and I was comfortable on the mound. Today was one of the most comfortable times I’ve had out there.”
Morrow pitched 40 times in relief, going 1-2 with a 1.47 ERA and 10 saves during a period when Putz was injured. His success as a reliever created a healthy debate within the organization over whether he should be converted into a starter.
General manager Lee Pelekoudas firmly believed the club would benefit from having Morrow in the rotation next year, and that the conversion needed to begin this summer. The Mariners sent him to Class AAA Tacoma, where he made five starts in August, his last being a one-hitter in six innings against Portland on Aug. 31.
He threw a career-high 82 pitches in that one and Mariners manager Jim Riggleman’s limit Friday was six innings or 95 pitches, whichever came first.
What nearly came first was the no-hitter, followed by a brutal decision that Riggleman faced.
“If he had gone through that eighth inning and had 105 pitches, we’d have had a real tough decision to make,” Riggleman said. “I wish we’d have been in a position to make that call. I was leaning toward sending him back out.”
That wasn’t necessary when Morrow, who’d thrown a crisp curve all night, hung a 1-2 pitch to Betemit. That double drove in Matsui, cutting the Mariners’ lead to 3-1.
“The curveball had been good all night and I had confidence when I threw it, but it just stayed up and he got hold of it,” Morrow said. “You can’t do anything about it, but you always want that back.”
Still, Morrow pulled off one of the rare feats in the major leagues.
The last pitcher to take a no hitter 72/3 innings into first career start was the Red Sox’s Billy Rohr, who did it April 14, 1967, against the Yankees in New York.
The no-hitter shattered, Riggleman immediately pulled Morrow and handed the game to the bullpen. Justin Thomas got the final out in the eighth and Putz pitched around Jeter’s leadoff single in the ninth to record his 11th save.
The Mariners scored their runs early off Yankees starter Andy Pettitte. Yuniesky Betancourt’s sacrifice fly pushed home Miguel Cairo for the first run in the third inning, and Kenji Johjima hit an RBI single and Cairo a run-scoring ground out in the fourth.
Third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo, starting his first major league game after being called up from Tacoma earlier in the week, got his first major league hit with a double in the fourth.
As sweet as that moment was, there was no doubt who owned the night.
For one night, Morrow made smart men of those who pushed to make him a starter.
“That’s not an easy call because he’d done such a great job in the bullpen,” Riggleman said. “The jury’s going to be out on that for a little while, but it was certainly a great night against a great ballclub. You’d like to dream a little bit and with Brandon and Felix Hernandez, with their power arms in the same rotation, that’s something to be excited about.”
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com
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