NEW YORK -- During spring training Chad Green's slider was non-existent and needed drastic improvement.

Five months later, the pitch was making big appearances in significant games for the New York Yankees.

Green retired the first 13 hitters he faced, struck out a career-high 11 hitters in six outstanding innings and combined with three relievers on a three-hitter as the Yankees held on for a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.

"Since we've seen him in spring training, his slider has improved drastically, his cutter has gotten better," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "His changeup, he has worked on that. He's worked on holding runners better. Just a lot of different things. We loved his arm and that's why we traded for him."

Green had a perfect game going through 61 pitches after striking out Michael Saunders on a breaking ball for the first out of the fifth. Eight pitches later, he lost his no-hit bid when Troy Tulowitzki lined a single to left field, and three pitches later he had runners at second and third after Darrell Ceciliani doubled to right field.

Green then recorded the biggest outs of his fifth major league start. First he got Justin Smoak to swing at strike three on a slider. After needing eight pitches to get Smoak, Green needed nine pitches to get Melvin Upton Jr. to strike out looking at a 94 mph fastball.

"I know he's talking when he first saw me in spring training when it was pretty much non-existent," Green said of his slider. "The strides with that pitch have been huge. It came a long way since April.

"I think it was more like a mindset. I didn't really change the grip on it, just how I went about it. Just being confident with it is huge too."

The right-hander walked off the mound clapping his hands into his glove and finished his outing with a flourish, striking out Josh Thole, Devon Travis and Josh Donaldson on a combined 15 pitches.

"What a performance," Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge said of Green.

Green became the second Yankee rookie to record at least 11 strikeouts without allowing a walk and a run. The other was Stan Bahnsen, who struck out 12 in a three-hitter at Boston on Aug. 1, 1968.

He also is the 17th rookie to accomplish the feat, the 12th Yankee and the first since Hall of Famer Randy Johnson struck 11 and allowed two hits against the Minnesota Twins on July 26, 2005.

Green had a 1-0 lead on Judge's RBI double in the fourth off R.A. Dickey (8-13), and despite countless opportunities, the Yankees could not get anything else. New York (61-57) won for the seventh time in 10 games despite going 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position and stranding 14, its most in a 1-0 game since stranding 15 on July 4, 1925, against the Philadelphia Athletics.

Green's best start nearly became a no-decision when Dellin Betances put two on in the ninth. One pitch after Donaldson singled, third baseman Chase Headley started a game-ending double play on Edwin Encarnacion as Betances recorded his fifth save.

"He was tremendous," Headley said of Green. "I didn't see him pitch in Triple-A, but I heard about what he was doing, saw the numbers. Obviously that's the type of pitcher we saw tonight."

Being unable to hit most of Green's career-high 104 pitches led to Toronto's fifth shutout loss of the season on a night when Dickey allowed one run and four hits in five innings.

"It was good," Toronto manager John Gibbons said of Green's breaking pitches. "It was a big breaker and it was hard."

The Blue Jays struck out 13 times, marking the 39th time they struck out at least 10 times. They had four baserunners and fell into a virtual tie for first place with Baltimore on percentage points.

"He's got a good fastball, but when you're commanding your off-speed pitches like that, it makes it tough," Thole said.

NOTES: Former Yankee DH Alex Rodriguez released a statement through his publicist, Ron Berkowitz, confirming that he will not play again this season. ... Toronto OF Ezequiel Carrera (left Achilles) continued his rehab with Triple-A Buffalo on Monday, playing nine innings in left field, and he could be activated from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. ... Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he expects to find out the results of the second opinion on RHP Nathan Eovaldi's (elbow tendon) on Tuesday. ... LF Brett Gardner (sore right ankle) did not start for the third straight game. Girardi said Gardner was feeling "significantly better." ... Plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt exited the game in the second inning after taking a ball off the mask during an at-bat by Yankees C Brian McCann. Scott Barry took over and Girardi praised him for getting ready quickly after starting the game at second base.