Dustin McGowan barely missed becoming the second Blue Jays pitcher to throw a no-hitter as Toronto blanked the Colorado Rockies 5-0 on Sunday.

The 25-year-old right-hander had the sun-drenched Rogers Centre crowd on the edge of their seats until No. 8 hitter Jeff Baker led off the ninth with a solid single up the middle to break up the no-hit bid.

Dustin McGowan tossed a one-hit shutout Sunday in his 20th big-league start.
(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

"It was just one of those days," McGowan told CBC. "Good weather, the crowd was getting into it, and my adrenalin was pumping a lot."

McGowan (4-3) was trying to become the first Blue Jay to toss a no-hitter since Dave Stieb did it against the Indians on Sept. 2, 1990, at Cleveland Stadium.

Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox and Detroit's Justin Verlander have thrown no-hitters this season.

After giving up the single to Baker, the hard-throwing McGowan, who was making just the 20th start of his career, retired the next three batters in order to preserve his first shutout.

"To have any success you have to attack the strike zone," McGowan, who finished with seven strikeouts and one walk, told CBC. "I went at them and let my defence do the work."

Thomas on verge of 500

Frank Thomas hit his 499th career home run, and Vernon Wells had a three-run homer as the Blue Jays (37-37) completed a three-game sweep of the Rockies (38-37) to return to .500 for the first time since May 1.

"That would have been priceless, 500 and a no-no," McGowan said.

For his part, Thomas could see McGowan's potential the moment he joined the Jays in Florida.

"He's got dominant stuff," Thomas said. "I've been telling him since spring training, 'Kid, you've got something special. You're not an average starter. You're a way above-average starter. Your stuff is electric and you can shut down teams for seven, eight innings like it's no big deal any day of the week."

Colorado starter Josh Fogg (3-6), who surrendered both blasts, was no match for McGowan, giving up five runs on seven hits over six innings while striking out four and walking two.

"That was the best-pitched game I've seen in a long time," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said of McGowan. "He had command of four pitches, late life on his fastball. His two-seam fastball was very effective to right-handers. He stayed completely away from the barrel, with the exception of that pitch to Baker in the ninth."

After Wells put Toronto on the board in the third inning with his eighth homer of the season, Thomas hit a towering solo blast in the fourth that moved him within one of becoming the 21st player in major-league history to reach the 500-homer plateau.

The mammoth slugger had two opportunities to reach the milestone Sunday, but he struck out looking in the sixth inning before going down swinging in the ninth.

Sunday's game marked the end of the Blue Jays' interleague schedule. On Monday, they begin a 10-game road swing that will take them to Minnesota, Seattle and Oakland.

With files from the Associated Press