Reliever Mazzaro makes history, allows 14 runs
Published - May 17 2011 01:19AM EST
By DOUG TUCKER - AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Vin Mazzaro made major league history.
It cost him his spot in the big leagues.
The Royals reliever gave up 14 runs and got just seven outs against the Cleveland Indians, who beat Kansas city 19-1 Monday night.
He was sent down to the minors after the game.
No pitcher has allowed 14 runs in fewer innings than Mazzaro, according to STATS LLC, whose database goes back to 1919.
"It's tough. It was a tough game," said Mazzaro, whose ERA is now 22.74. "Some of the plays didn't go my way. It's a funny game."
Only a handful of relief outings have gone worse. They all were longer, or included unearned runs.
The well-rested Indians pounded out 20 hits and walked eight times. Starter Kyle Davies didn't make it out of the first and Mazzaro had to come on after 1 2-3 innings from Nate Adcock.
Mazzaro hung in there until the fourth inning, when he gave up 10 runs.
After the brutal fourth inning, the right-hander allowed four more in the fifth before he was removed.
"We do have a few guys who see a lot of pitches," said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. "On those days when the pitchers are not on top of their game, these guys can really work a number on them."
The 25-year-old Mazzaro erased the Royals' record of 11 runs allowed in a game, which had been done three times.
Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta each had four RBIs in the Indians' biggest offensive outburst since scoring 22 runs at New York on April 18, 2009. Hafner and Orlando Cabrera each had three RBIs.
LaPorta reached base five times with a walk and four hits.
"You see a couple of guys in front of you get a hit and you want to be right there, you want to be able to drive them in," LaPorta said "And I think it's the same way, guys behind you want to drive you in."
At least Mazzaro didn't get the loss.
That went to Davies (1-6), who left after walking the bases full in the first inning and retiring only one batter. The Royals said later that he would have an MRI for soreness in the front of his right shoulder. He was charged with two runs after Adcock gave up a two-run single to Orlando Cabrera.
The Indians added another run in the second on an RBI single by Brantley, who set a career high with his four RBIs.
Asdrubal Cabrera's RBI single got the Indians rolling in the fourth. Mazzaro then issued Carlos Santana's third walk of the game, and walk No. 7 on the night for the Indians, which loaded the bases.
Hafner then hammered a three-run double into left-center. Orlando Cabrera followed with an RBI single, then Travis Buck singled and LaPorta hit a two-run double that made it 10-0. After Jack Hannahan singled, Brantley hit a 1-1 pitch for a three-run home run and a 13-0 Cleveland lead.
"I personally didn't even know we had that many runs," said LaPorta. "We were just going up there. Everybody was trying to get on base and do their job. I was just trying to see the ball well and put a good swing on it."
The Indians, who were coming off back-to-back rainouts, sent 13 men to the plate in the fourth. For the game, they had a season-high 20 hits, including seven doubles, and drew eight walks.
In the fifth, Buck had an RBI single, LaPorta added a second two-run double and Hannahan brought in a run with an infield out.
Josh Tomlin (5-1) got the win, going six innings and giving up five hits and one run, on Billy Butler's infield out in the fourth.
Tomlin tried not to think he was working with a gigantic lead.
"I was up there still trying to take the same approach and pitch like it was a tie ballgame," he said. "Sometimes you can lose focus a little bit. But for the most part, it puts you at ease a little bit and you can go after them."
According to STATS LLC, the last pitcher to give up 10 runs in an inning was Texas' Scott Feldman against the Red Sox on Aug. 12, 2008, although not all the runs were earned. Before Mazzaro, the only pitchers since 1947 to get clobbered for 14 runs were Milwaukee's Bill Travers in 1977, and Oakland's Mike Oquist in 1998 against the Yankees. But those were starters.
No reliever had given up 14 runs in the major leagues since 1942, when Lester McCrabb did it for the Philadelphia Athletics, STATS said.
Their research also showed that three relievers have given up 16 runs in a single appearance. Lefty O'Doul gave up 16 runs in a 1923 game with the Boston Red Sox, though only three runs were earned.
Johnny Stuart of the Cardinals gave up 16 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1925, but it took him 8 1-3 innings to do it. Dutch Schesler took eight innings in his 16-run appearance for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1931.
Mazzaro's name now joins theirs in major league history. Mazzaro, meanwhile, will join the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers.
"It's kind of a tough call," he said. "You've just go to keep battling. Things will work out."
NOTES: The Indians are in the unusual position of playing a pair of two-game series on a four-game road trip. After two in KC, they'll fly to Chicago for two with the White Sox before returning home. ... It was LaPorta's second four-hit game. The other was Aug. 29, 2009 at Baltimore. ...
The last Royals pitcher to give up 11 runs was Brian Bannister on June 12, 2010 against Cincinnati. ... The Indians also scored 10 runs in the fourth inning on April 8 at Seattle.
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