Right-hander Brandon Morrow made start No. 2 in Venezuela on Monday night, and while he was saddled with the loss, he was solid in five more innings of work.

Morrow fanned five and did not walk a batter while throwing a good mix of fastballs and sliders. He yielded two runs on six hits - five singles - and one scout thought he showed less rust and more snap on his breaking ball.

“He was a little better today; fastball was just as crisp, sitting 91-93, and his slider was more effective,” he said. “There were a few at-bats where he reached back and blew one by in the 95-96 range, but for me, his slider was what made his night a success. Nothing was hit hard, either.”

The one thing Morrow did not do as well in comparison to his first start is keep the ball down in the zone. He left a few fastballs up and hung a couple of splitters. In the big leagues, those get smashed.

“It wasn’t too bad, though,” said the scout. “He didn’t hang any juice balls, but he could have been hurt in the second inning had he not had the plus fastball.

So far in two starts, Morrow has gone 10 innings and fanned 10 versus two walks. His command has been ok, and he’s thrown strikes with his fastball and shown a better slider than he had at any point during the 2007 MLB season.

The 23-year-old is schedule to start again on Saturday.