TORONTO (AP) — Daulton Varsho singled with the bases loaded in the 10th and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Seattle 1-0 for their sixth straight victory Saturday after Mariners pitcher Easton McGee took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his first major league start.
Matt Chapman doubled off the center-field wall with two outs in the seventh for the only hit against McGee, who was called up from the minors before the game.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman matched the impressive rookie with a career-high 13 strikeouts in seven shutout innings.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled off Trevor Gott (0-2) to begin the bottom of the 10th, advancing automatic runner Bo Bichette to third.
Seattle intentionally walked Chapman to load the bases for Varsho, who broke an 0-for-18 slump by lining the first pitch over Teoscar Hernández in right field.
Seattle lost its fourth in a row and fell to 3-9 in one-run games.
Toronto reliever Erik Swanson (1-0) struck out three in a hitless inning against his former team.
McGee was brought up from Triple-A Tacoma to start in place of struggling Chris Flexen, who was moved to the bullpen. It was the second big league outing for McGee, who made one relief appearance for Tampa Bay late last season.
He retired his first 12 batters before walking Chapman to begin the fifth. The 6-foot-6 right-hander then set down the next eight Blue Jays hitters. He was lifted after Chapman’s double, and Matt Brash struck out Varsho to end the inning.
McGee threw only 64 pitches in 6 2/3 innings, striking out two.
There have been six no-hitters in Mariners history and the most recent one came in Toronto, by Canadian-born lefty James Paxton on May 8, 2018.
Gausman allowed six hits and walked one. His ERA dropped from 2.84 to 2.33.
Trainer’s room
Mariners star center fielder Julio Rodríguez left in the sixth because of a sore lower back. He was replaced by AJ Pollock.
Roster moves
Seattle optioned RHP Diego Castillo to Triple-A to make room for McGee.
Up next
Mariners LHP Marco Gonzales (2-0, 3.32 ERA) starts Sunday’s series finale against RHP Chris Bassitt (3-2, 4.82).
