MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Move over, Milt Gaston.
After eight decades and thousands of games in Boston Red Sox lore, Gaston finally has some company.
Daisuke Matsuzaka tied Gaston’s franchise record with four wild pitches, and the Red Sox righties combined to tie a modern-day major league mark with six combined in a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.
On Sept. 14, 1929, Gaston threw four wild pitches for a record that stood alone for almost 80 years.
In his second outing since a stint on the disabled list, and throwing to a catcher who had never been behind the plate for one of his starts, Matsuzaka (0-3) matched that dubious mark in the fourth inning against the Twins. He gave up three runs and nine hits with three walks and six strikeouts in five innings.
“There were cases out there today that our signs didn’t match up all the time or our timing didn’t match up,” Matsuzaka said through an interpreter. “All that comes from experience. I think I needed to take more of a leadership role out there with respect to working with Kottaras today.”
hth former major leaguer in history to reach the age of 100 in 1996 and owned the distinction of having the most Hall of Fame teammates and managers of any player, ever.
He had a career record of 97-164 with five teams and led the AL in wild pitches in 1929 and 1930 while pitching for the Red Sox, who emulated him on Wednesday night.
Relievers Justin Masterson and Manny Delcarmen also threw wild pitches, making the Red Sox only the fifth team since 1900 to throw six wild pitches in a game. The last team to do it was the California Angels in 1991.
“I think that’s more of a fluke than anything,” Masterson said of the record. “I’ve never seen that before.
By contrast, Kevin Slowey (7-1) was the picture of control. He gave up two runs on six hits with five strikeouts and just one walk in six innings. Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier combined for two innings of hitless relief to set up Joe Nathan’s eighth save.
Denard Span had four hits, a walk and two runs scored and was on the basepaths for five of the six wild pitches.
“There were some tough pitches, a lot of curveballs and sliders in the dirt,” Span said. “That’s a big reason why we were able to come out on top.”
Orioles 12, Blue Jays 10, 11 innings
At Baltimore, Nolan Reimold hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning and the Orioles extended Toronto’s losing streak to nine.
Roy Halladay left after seven innings.
Toronto finished the worst road swing in franchise history – three losses apiece in Boston, Atlanta and Baltimore. The Blue Jays never before went winless on a road trip of at least nine games.
Tigers 8, Royals 3
At Kansas City, Mo., Rick Porcello won his fifth straight start, and Placido Polanco homered and drove in three runs to help deal the Royals their 13th loss in 18 games.
Porcello (6-3) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings. Miguel Cabrera homered and Josh Anderson had four hits in the leadoff spot.
Kyle Davies (2-4) gave up eight runs, five earned, and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings for KC.
Mariners 6, Athletics 1
At Oakland, Calif., Russell Branyan hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning, and Erik Bedard won for the first time in five starts as Seattle avoided a sweep.
Bedard (3-2) hadn’t won since April 24 against the Angels in Anaheim.
Oakland’s Bobby Crosby snapped a career-long 72-game, 243 at-bat homerless streak with a drive in the second that tied it at 1, but Oakland could do little else against Bedard.
Yankees 9, Rangers 2
At Arlington, Texas, A.J. Burnett pitched six shutout innings to win for the first time in six weeks and Hideki Matsui homered twice.
has been in first place in the AL East.
Derek Jeter was 3 for 4 and reached base five times, and Mark Teixeira added his 12th homer in May.
Angels 3, White Sox 1
At Anaheim, Calif., Jered Weaver and Brian Fuentes combined on a five-hitter and Bobby Abreu had two RBIs.
Weaver (4-2) gave up one run and four hits and struck out eight in eight innings. He has given up one run in four of his last five starts.
Fuentes pitched the ninth for his 13th save.
Gavin Floyd (3-5) gave up three runs and seven hits in eight innings. He struck out eight and walked two.
Indians 12, Rays 7
At Cleveland, Ben Francisco homered and drove in four runs and the Indians won three straight for the first time this season.
Greg Aquino (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win – Cleveland’s sixth in eight games. It was his first win since June 19, 2006, for Arizona. Luis Vizcaino worked three scoreless innings for his first save since Sept. 29, 2004, for Milwaukee.
The Rays have dropped 16 in a row in Cleveland since a 1-0 win on Sept. 29, 2005.
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