No-hit bid belies control difficulty

There are plenty of reasons why left-hander David Purcey started the season in the Toronto Blue Jays' rotation, and he showed some of them Sunday.

Purcey was untouchable for six innings in his first start for the 51s. But instead of finishing off a no-hitter, he left with a no-decision.

"There's a lot of positives," he said after Las Vegas' 4-2 loss to the Salt Lake Bees at Cashman Field. "I felt pretty good out there."

Purcey lost his no-hit bid in the seventh inning, when Chris Pettit grounded a single to left field, and the 51s (6-17) went on to lose for the seventh time in eight games.

The Blue Jays sent the 6-foot-5-inch Purcey to Triple A on Friday, and Las Vegas manager Mike Basso said Purcey's pitch count would be limited to 110 on Sunday.

Through six innings, Purcey made 90 pitches and had a 2-0 lead. But he walked the Bees' Reggie Willits and Freddy Sandoval on eight pitches to open the seventh. After Pettit's single scored Willits, Basso lifted Purcey for reliever T.J. Beam.

Salt Lake (16-7) scored three more times in the inning to tag Beam (1-2) with the loss. Beam allowed an RBI double to Matt Brown and a two-run single to Ryan Budde. Bees right-hander Dan Denham (3-0) went six innings to earn the win.

Purcey threw 104 pitches, but only 52 for strikes to highlight the control problems that got him demoted from the majors. Purcey walked five and had six strikeouts.

"If you ask hitters, 'Who would you want to face?' none of them are going to tell you it's David Purcey," Basso said. "His stuff is really good. He just needs to throw more quality strikes. You see when he's in the zone he's tough to hit."

A fastball in the low to middle 90s is Purcey's best pitch. He's in the minors to fine-tune the location of his curve and changeup.

"The main thing I need to work on is all my off-speed pitches and getting them over the plate for strikes," said Purcey, a first-round pick by the Blue Jays in 2004.

In five starts with Toronto, Purcey went 0-2 with a 7.01 ERA. He struck out 26 but walked 18 in 25 2/3 innings.

"Purcey's got the total package. He's had success in the major leagues," Basso said. "He will be the first one to tell you he wasn't doing his job, and that's why he got sent down to Triple A."

Kyle Phillips went 4-for-4 and Angel Sanchez hit a two-run double in the fourth for the 51s, who are 1-10 on the road as they start a four-game series today at Fresno.