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Morrow delivers solid outing, builds confidence

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Brandon Morrow made his return to the mound on Friday afternoon and received some positive reviews following his first appearance since last May.

Morrow allowed one run over two innings against the Pirates, but seemed to throw with relative ease and didn't have any issues with his delivery. Unlike previous springs, Morrow used all of his pitches and allowed just two hits.

The 29-year-old came on in relief of left-hander Mark Buehrle in his first game action since he was shut down last year with an impinged nerve in his right forearm.

"The further along I get, the less I worry about it," Morrow said of his injury. "I felt great today, my arm action was great, the ball was coming out as well as I could have asked for. Just another step forward in confidence and I'm feeling good about it."

Morrow retired the side in order during his first inning, but then experienced some difficulty in the fourth. He allowed back-to-back doubles to Pedro Alvarez and Gaby Sanchez, but then quickly settled down and got through the rest of his outing unscathed.

The native of California required just 24 pitches to get through the two innings and his velocity topped out in the 94-95 mph range. That's an encouraging sign this early in camp, but Morrow isn't putting too much stock in it quite yet.

"I'm not worried about that," said Morrow, who had a 5.63 ERA in 10 starts last year. "The hitter will let you know, they had some defensive swings. Regardless of the speed, you know you had some life on there and it was getting on them. That's good enough for me."

Gregor Chisholm is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, North of the Border, and follow him on Twitter @gregorMLB.
Read More: Toronto Blue Jays, Brandon Morrow