TORONTO - 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 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.
"I was a lot more calm today," Verlander said. "Obviously, there's some adrenaline - you can't help it - but having been through this situation before, I was definitely able to calm myself down a little bit easier than last time."
Minnesota's Francisco Liriano pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.
Verlander barely missed a perfect game. 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.
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"It was as good as it gets," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He just missed by inches of being perfect."
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."
Detroit almost had a perfect game June 2 last season, but umpire Jim Joyce's blown call at first base robbed Armando Galarraga with two outs in the ninth.
Verlander (3-3) struck out 12 in his first no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 12, 2007. This time, 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.
Mixing fastballs that sizzled over 100 mph with an effective changeup, Verlander became the 30th pitcher in major league history to throw multiple no-hitters.
"He was unbelievable today," Arencibia said. "Anytime on your 106th pitch when you're hitting 100, I'd say it's pretty ridiculous stuff."
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 breaking ball.
Verlander pumped his fist and hugged catcher Alex Avila before being mobbed by teammates. He was doused with a bucket of ice water by reliever Jose Valverde.
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.
With a bruise on his forearm, Verlander kept the swelling down by having a trainer rub a can of Red Bull on the injury.
"I was kind of like a boxer, you know, you see them in between rounds where they put the cold stuff on," he said.
