Edinson Volquez was the first starting pitcher in 12 games to pitch fewer than six innings.
The shutout loss is the fifth straight against American League teams for the Reds. They were swept in Cleveland in late May.
A leadoff double in the third inning and a leadoff home run in the fourth were enough to propel the Blue Jays to its second win of the three game set.
Volquez struck out the first two batters of the game and looked like he was going to dominate but Yunel Escobar hit a two-strike double. The Reds defense, in particular, Volquez defense was subpar. Former Red Corey Patterson bunted and Volquez threw the ball down the firstbase line. The ball went behind the tarp and Jay Bruce thought it was lost but it rolled out from behind it and he threw Patterson out at third.
Jose Molina hit a home run in the fourth. Rajai Davis followed with a triple and scored.
Corey Patterson led off the fifth with a double but the ball could have been caught by Chris Heisey. Patterson scored on a single by Jose Bautista.
"We didn't play well tonight. Especially on defense," Dusty Baker said. "That's not like us. We will keep working. Edinson threw the ball well but hurt himself a couple times."
"I threw a pretty good game but I didn't play well," Volquez said. "I was late covering first the first play."
Volquez could not get to a throw by Votto when Adam Lind grounded the ball deep at first base. The error was properly charged to Volquez but was later improperly charged to Votto. The Blue Jays loaded the bases but Volquez got out of that jam without a score.
Offensively the Reds had five singles off Morrow. Brandon Phillips singled in the first but was thrown out stealing when Votto struck out. Bruce broke a personal 0-for-17 slump with a single in the second inning but didn't move. Paul Janish had a swinging bunt single in the third was sacrificed to second by Volquez and stranded there. Bruce got his second single in the fourth.
The Reds didn't put more than one runner on base until the eighth and ninth but couldn't get a key hit.
"Morrow kept the ball up on us. He pitched off his fastball," Baker said. "He would throw one up and in, then move it away. He pitched a good game."
Votto was 0-for-4 and struck out twice. He has not reached base in the two games against his hometown team. It is the first time since 2009 that he has gone two games without reaching base by a hit, walk or hit batsman. In August 30, 2009 he was 0-for-5 against Los Angeles and the next day he was 0-for-9 in a doubleheader against Pittsburgh.
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