TORONTO -- Blue Jays starter Jesse Litsch quickly lunged forward, diving to the ground on the left side of the mound to take cover from the barrel of Alex Gordon's bat, which spun like helicopter blades as it flew over the middle of the infield.

While Litsch lay on the turf at Rogers Centre, Toronto second baseman Aaron Hill scooped up the fourth-inning grounder and promptly threw Gordon out at first base. The pitch that turned Gordon's bat into kindling provided evidence as to just how well Litsch's pitches were dancing on Saturday afternoon.

Gordon wasn't the only Kansas City hitter to have his bat shattered by Litsch, who spun the first complete-game shutout of his career in a 6-0 victory over the Royals. Broken bats tend to lead to ground-ball outs for the young right-hander, but Litsch wouldn't mind having the strips of wood avoid the mound.

"It's going to happen, broken bats," said Litsch, who then cracked a smile. "But that was quite a few for me, especially the ones coming at my head. I don't like those."

With the type of movement Litsch can create with his pitches, he's sure to see his share of splintered bats throughout his career, especially being the type of pitcher who lives and dies in the strike zone. The 23-year-old thrives on tempting batters to swing, and Litsch succeeded in that regard against Kansas City.

Litsch had the luxury of being more aggressive against the Royals, thanks to a four-run outburst by the Jays (26-25) in the first inning. With two outs, Brad Wilkerson sent a 3-1 offering from Kansas City's Luke Hochevar ducking just over the wall in left-center field for a grand slam, putting the Jays ahead, 4-0.

"We got the big grand slam from Wilkerson," Jays manager John Gibbons said. "That made a huge difference early. That makes a big difference for those pitchers when they get that early breathing room."

It was a similar story on Friday night, when Toronto jumped out to an early 6-1 advantage, allowing ace Roy Halladay to settle into cruise control en route to a complete-game victory. Following Halladay's lead, Litsch needed just 103 pitches to go the distance to improve his record to 6-1 on the year.

"That's big, that 4-0 lead in the first inning," Litsch said. "Going out there in the second, it gives you a lot of momentum, and you're set into a little zone there and you can just pound the zone without worrying."

And pound the zone he did.

Litsch had five innings in which he needed fewer than 10 pitches to dispose of the Royals (21-28) and he finished with 14 outs courtesy of ground balls. Litsch didn't walk a batter until the ninth inning, establishing a new franchise record with 38 innings in a row without issuing a free pass.

"The sinker, the cutter -- it was all moving good today," Litsch said. "If they're swinging, let them swing. First-pitch outs are your friend. The first two pitches for outs, that's what you try to do."

The previous club mark of 34 1/3 innings without walking a batter was shared by Jimmy Key (1990) and David Wells (2000), but Litsch didn't want to focus too much on the accomplishment. Wilkerson caught the final out in right field on Friday and presented it to Litsch as a keepsake.

"I heard it. That's cool," said Litsch, referring to the record. "It is what it is. It's definitely a good achievement for myself, but the big thing tonight is we got the win and everything. We're on a roll, we're over .500 and we're starting to swing the bats."

The Jays received a pair of insurance runs to aid Litsch's effort -- one in the sixth on an RBI single by Gregg Zaun and another in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk by Lyle Overbay. For Overbay, his walk marked the 11th plate appearance in a row that he reached base, tying a club record set by Tony Fernandez in 1999.

That six-run cushion was more than enough to convince Gibbons to keep Litsch on the hill for the final inning. In the ninth, Litsch yielded a leadoff double to Mark Grudzielanek and walked Mark Teahen with two outs, but ended the game by forcing Billy Butler to fly out to right.

It was one out longer than Litsch lasted in his debut as a rookie last season, when he earned a spot in Toronto's rotation.

"Nothing's going to rank with the first one last year," said Litsch, who scattered seven hits and struck out three. "But this was a great start and we had great defense, great hitting -- everything. The whole team played well tonight."

Litsch, in particular, gave the Royals fits.

"If you've never stood in there against the stuff that Litsch has," Royals manager Trey Hillman said, "then you don't have an understanding of just how nasty it can be."