If the Yankees were looking at this start as Ivan Nova's chance to audition for meaningful postseason innings, the right-hander wasn't able to provide much of a convincing argument.

Nova surrendered four runs and was unable to get through five innings, but the Yankees' bats were also silenced by Brandon Morrow as New York suffered a 6-0 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Thursday night.

With the defeat, the Yankees' American League East lead over the idle Orioles dipped to just one game with six contests remaining on the schedule.

Morrow has a history of pitching well against the Yankees in Toronto and was in command of New York's lineup again on Thursday, limiting the Yankees to just four hits and three walks over seven scoreless innings.

While the Yankees weren't going to win without producing any offense, manager Joe Girardi said that Thursday represented "an important start" for Nova, who won 16 games last year but now may be on the bubble for a postseason roster spot.