TORONTO -- Justin Verlander flirted with perfection, but wasn’t to be denied his second career no-hitter. He got Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Rajai Davis to go down swinging for the final out, pumped his fist twice and smiled. Catcher Alex

Avila ran to the mound to embrace him.

"Congratulations!" Avila shouted. "That was unbelievable."

Verlander responded: "Great job, Alex!"

And that was all there was time to say before their Detroit Tigers teammates engulfed them on the mound and began hitting them in the ribs.

"I felt fantastic," Verlander said. "I was extremely excited."

Verlander allowed just an eighth-inning walk to Toronto catcher J.P. Arencibia, and made the key fielding play in the 9-0 win Saturday.

He had a red welt on the middle of his right forearm from a ball Edwin Encarnacion lined off him in the fifth. Verlander threw him out and kept the swelling down with a can of Red Bull between innings. He was afraid of icing the arm and having tightness set in.

"I got a pretty decent lump there," Verlander said, pointing to it. "But I felt OK once I warmed up."

He was throwing 100 and 101 mph fastballs in the ninth inning, having conserved energy by throwing with less velocity earlier. Verlander didn’t have his signature curveball working as he would like, but he had a great slider and command in a 108-pitch mound clinic.

"It’s as good as it gets," said Detroit manager Jim Leyland. "He just missed by inches being perfect ... he was eyelashes away from being perfect."

Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander tosses second career no-hitter 14 Gallery: Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander tosses second career no-hitter

Verlander was five outs away from a perfect game when Arencibia fought him for a 12-pitch at-bat. Arencibia pulled a shot down the line in left that was foul by about one foot and worked a full count. He eventually walked on a low, outside fastball that home plate umpire Jerry Meals got right.

"That was an amazing, amazing at-bat," Verlander said. "You’ve got to tip your cap sometimes."

Verlander stepped off the mound for a few seconds and was asked what was going through his mind as he came so close to just the 21st perfect game in history.

He smiled and said, "I thought, ‘C’mon, give me a break. You could’ve called it.’ But I know it was a ball."

Arencibia said: "He was unbelievable today. Anytime when your 106th pitch is hitting 100 (mph) — I would say that’s pretty ridiculous stuff.

"You know, he made some good pitches that I was able to foul off and I knew he was going to come after me. And I knew he going to throw his fastballs at me once we got a 3-2 count. I was able to foul off a couple of them. I felt I was seeing it pretty good and he threw that one off the plate away and it was a thing where it was just a crazy at-bat. It’s tough for him to give it up that way, but he obviously deserves all the credit today."

Third baseman Encarnacion hit into a tailor-made double play to end the eighth inning with the no-hitter intact.

Designated hitter David Cooper popped up to second base to open the ninth, and second baseman John McDonald grounded out to second baseman Scott Sizemore for the 26th out. Verlander wanted this one so badly that he dived for that ball in vain.

And after Davis chased an outside fastball for the 27th out, the Tigers rushed the mound for a 25-man group hug. Closer Jose Valverde doused him with a bucket of ice water before post-game TV interviews.

"That was cold," Verlander said. "That and the beer shower."

Verlander (3-3, 3.16 ERA) entered the game second in the American League with 51 strikeouts, but had only four in this gem. He struck out 12 in

, against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park.

The Blue Jays made 13 outs on the ground, including a double play, and had nine fly or pop outs. One out came on a line drive.

It would have been the first perfect game by a Tiger in the club’s 111-year history.

, when umpire Jim Joyce ruled Jason Donald safe on a grounder to first rather than ringing him up as the 27th and final out.

Detroit posted six previous no-hitters, and the last was turned in by Verlander. Jack Morris (1984), Jim Bunning (1958), Virgil Trucks (a pair in 1952) and George Mullin (1912) have the others.

Toronto’s first good shot at a hit came in the fifth inning. With two out, Encarnacion lined a one-hopper off Verlander. He didn’t hesitate and sprinted to the ball as it ricocheted toward the third base line. Verlander bare-handed it and fired toward first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who scooped it out of the dirt to get Encarnacion by a half step. He turned to show the ball to first base umpire CB Bucknor.

Cabrera was in pain as he fielded the ball below the belt.

"Yeah," said Cabrera, "I took one for the team.

"They say you’ve got to be lucky and not good. We made the plays and it was almost a perfect game."

Davis had the hardest hit ball against Verlander, but the screamer he hit for the final out of the sixth inning was right at Cabrera.

Verlander didn’t reach a three-ball count until two were out in the seventh. Left fielder Juan Rivera fouled off a 3-1 pitch before hitting a come-backer that Verlander reached up and to snare before tossing him out.

He said the pick by Cabrera and the play shortstop Jhonny Peralta made on a difficult grounder to his right hit by Yunel Escobar leading off the seventh were the key plays made behind him.

It was the 249th no-hitter in baseball and Verlander became the 30th to have at least a pair. Nolan Ryan, one of his boyhood idols, holds the record with seven and only five have three or more no-hitters: Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax (4) and

Larry Corcoran, Bob Feller and Cy Young with three apiece.

On collecting a rare second no-hitter, Verlander said, "It means a lot for Detroit, all my teammates and myself. I’m really excited to accomplish something like that."

Ricky Romero matched Verlander with a perfect first two innings, but then completely lost his rhythm and ended up allowing six runs in his 3 1/3 innings.

Ryan Raburn led off the third with the game’s first hit, a single, and was picked off second base after advancing there on a balk. But Romero then walked Avila and Brandon Inge before Austin Jackson singled to load the bases.

Sizemore walked to force in the game’s first run. Two more scored on a wild pitch and a Magglio Ordonez grounder.

Peralta hit a solo homer in the fourth, and after Avila hit a two-run shot, Romero was finally taken out of the game. It was the sixth homer of the season for Avila, who had only seven all last season.

Victor Martinez added RBI singles in the fifth off reliever Carlos Villanueva and in the ninth against Casey Janssen. Peralta also knocked in a run with a ninth-inning single after Janssen walked the bases loaded.

It was far more than Verlander needed on this day.