Royals Pitcher Has Night to Forget

The Royals game against the Indians started off normally last night.  Kansas City starting pitcher Kyle Davies didn't last through the first inning, giving up two runs and leaving the game with shoulder soreness.  Reliever Nate Adcock came in and gave up one run in 1.2 innings.  Then, however, the game got crazy: enter reliever Vin Mazzaro.

Mazzaro was making his second appearance of the season.  His first appearance of the season was pretty average, as he gave up two runs and six hits to the Yankees in a four inning start.  His first inning on Monday wasn't a sign of things to come.  After Adcock walked the lead-off man in the third inning, Mazzaro came in and retired three batters in a row to end the inning.  However, the fourth inning was a different story...

Matt LaPorta singled.  Jack Hannahan grounded into a fielder's choice (LaPorta out at second).  Michael Brantley walked.  Asdrubal Cabrera singled and Hannahan scored.  Shin-Soo Choo flied out to center, advancing Brantley to third.  Cabrera stole second.  Carlos Santana walked.  Travis Hafner doubled to center, scoring Brantley, Cabrera, and Santana.  Orlando Cabrera singled, scoring Hafner.  Travis Buck singled, advancing Cabrera to second.  LaPorta then doubled to left, scoring Cabrera and Buck.  Hannahan singled, advancing LaPorta to third.  Brantley then hit a three-run home run before Mazzaro finally struck out Asdrubal Cabrera to end the inning.  Overall in the fourth, Mazzaro gave up 10 runs on eight hits.

While the fifth inning was better for Mazzaro, he still gave up another four runs on four more hits.  Overall, Mazzaro pitched 2.1 innings, giving up 14 earned runs on 11 hits and three walks while striking out two.  The Indians ended up winning the game 19-1.  Who knows why Royals manager Ned Yost left Mazzaro in the game for the fifth inning.  Most likely, he wanted to save the bullpen in what had already become a lost game.  However, Mazzaro's night ended up being historically bad, as no pitcher has allowed 14 runs in fewer innings than Mazzaro (according to STATS LLC, whose database goes back to 1919).  To make things worse, Mazzaro's night landed him a trip back to Triple-A Omaha.  After his two big league appearances this season, Mazzaro has compiled a 22.74 ERA in 6.1 innings, giving up 17 hits and 16 runs while striking out four and walking seven.  Talk about depressing.