For Guthrie, 'just one of those days'
Righty second starter in MLB history to allow 11 ER without recording out in second
NEW YORK -- There wasn't much for Royals right-hander Jeremy Guthrie to say after his worst outing as a Major Leaguer.
The numbers said it all.
Guthrie gave up 11 runs in one-plus innings in Monday's 14-1 loss to the Yankees, one of the worst outings in Royals history and one of the worst starts in Major League history.
Vin Mazzaro owns the dubious team record for most runs allowed, 14 in a 19-1 loss to Cleveland in 2011. Luke Hudson gave up 10 earned runs for the Royals in a 13-0 loss to the Indians in 2006, lasting just a third of an inning.
But Guthrie became just the second starter since 1914 to allow 11 or more earned runs without recording at least one out in the second inning. The other outing came on July 29, 2007, when the Astros' Jason Jennings was tagged for 11 earned runs while lasting just two-thirds of an inning.
Guthrie's first frame went like this: Double, home run, single, wild pitch, walk, home run, flyout, groundout, hit batter, single, home run, single, walk, strikeout.
Asked if it was just an issue of poor command, Guthrie said, "I'm sure it was more than just command, but that was a part of it. ... Most of the damage they did was a credit to them. I don't know if they were good pitches, but they were executed [the way we planned them]."
It didn't get much better in the second inning when Guthrie gave up a walk, a single and another home run, his fourth of the day.
Royals manager Ned Yost had been hoping that Guthrie would have done what he has done in the past during shaky starts -- get through four or five innings to spare the bullpen. Guthrie couldn't pull that off this time.
"For him to send me out [in the second inning] is a gesture of faith on his part," Guthrie said. "The game is probably over at that point, but he believes I can go out there and get more outs. But I wasn't able to do that or get deeper into the game."
Added Yost, "It was just one of those days for him. It happens.
"You do what you always do. You do the work in between starts. Fortunately, these are rare."