Toronto's Mark Buehrle Fails In Bid To Pitch 200 Innings
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Mark Buehrle has come up short in his bid to become the fifth major leaguer to pitch 200 or more innings in 15 consecutive seasons.
Starting for the second time in three days, Buehrle needed two innings Sunday to reach the milestone, but he failed to get through the first against Tampa Bay.
Two errors lead to Buehrle allowing eight unearned runs and five hits over a career-low two-thirds of an inning. He had gone 6 2/3 innings Friday night en route to his 15th win.
Tampa Bay's first run scored when first baseman Edwin Encarnacion dropped Steven Souza Jr's soft liner for the Blue Jays' second error in five batters.
Tim Beckham drew a two-out bases-loaded walk and Joey Butler hit a grand slam on an 85 mph offering — the fastest of Buehrle's 45 pitches — to make it 6-0. The slam came after a close call by plate umpire Alfonso Marquez went against Buehrle on a 2-2 pitch.
Manager John Gibbons took Buehrle out after Brandon Guyer's RBI single.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)