Verlander threw his second career no-hitter and th

With one out to go, Justin Verlander cracked a smile on the mound.He could afford to enjoy the moment, he'd seen this before. So had baseball fans -- real recently, in fact.Verlander threw his second career no-hitter and the second in the big leagues this week, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 9-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.Minnesota's Francisco Liriano pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.Verlander barely missed a perfect game. Detroit Tigers Jerseys The only runner he allowed came with one out in the eighth inning when J.P. Arencibia walked on a full count, with Verlander's 12th pitch to the rookie just an inch or two outside."It was as good as it gets," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He just missed by inches of being perfect. It really doesn't get any better than that. That's great stuff."Verlander had no argument with the call by plate umpire Jerry Meals."Right out of my fingertips, I knew it was just a hair outside and it was," he said. "It was a ball and you've got to give Jerry a 'Good job'. He called it a ball and it was."
Verlander (3-3) struck out 12 in his first no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 12, 2007. This time,Juicy Handbags, he fanned Rajai Davis to end it for his fourth strikeout of the game. The overpowering right-hander threw 108 pitches, 74 for strikes, against a Blue Jays lineup missing ailing slugger Jose Bautista."He was unbelievable today," Arencibia said. "Anytime on your 106th pitch when you're hitting 100, I'd say it's pretty ridiculous stuff."Blue Jays rookie David Cooper popped to second on Verlander's first pitch of the ninth. John McDonald followed with a grounder to second, and Verlander flashed a grin. With the crowd of 23,453 standing and cheering, Davis ended it by striking out swinging on a 2-2 pitch from the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year.Verlander calmly pumped his fist and smiled, then shared a hug with catcher Alex Avila before being mobbed by teammates near the mound. He was doused with a bucket of ice water by reliever Jose Valverde."That was cold," Verlander said. "That and the beer shower I got in here was cold, too."
His closest brush came in the fifth when Edwin Encarnacion hit a line drive the glanced off Verlander's arm. Verlander scrambled toward third base to track down the ball and made a hurried throw that first baseman Miguel Cabrera scooped.Left with a bruise on his forearm, Verlander kept the swelling down by having a trainer rub a can of Red Bull on the injury.Verlander had another close call on the final out of the sixth when Cabrera had to leap to snare Corey Patterson's sharp liner. MLB Jerseys From China For a while, it looked as if Verlander was dueling someone else: Milwaukee's Yovani Gallardo. Because at the same time Verlander was dominating at Rogers Centre, Gallardo was making his own no-hit bid for Milwaukee at Busch Stadium.Gallardo's try ended when St. Louis' Daniel Descalso singled leading off the eighth inning. The hit came just a few minutes before Verlander's lone walk.A season after Roy Halladay threw two no-hitters -- a perfect game, then a gem in his postseason debut -- and helped stamp 2010 as the Year of the Pitcher, there's evidence that 2011 could mean more of the same. Several pitchers have come close before missing this year, and Cliff Lee struck out 16 in a losing effort Friday night.