The Cleveland Indians had a historic night in Kansas City last night. Sure, beating a divisional foe 19-1 is historic - and important in a season that is shaping up to be a memorable one for the Tribe. No, the offensive output in the 4th and 5th innings against Kansas City Royals reliever Vin Mazzaro ranks among the biggest ever. And for Mazzaro, his line - 2 1/3 innings, 11 hits, 14 earned runs, 3 BB, 2 SO - is one of the worst in the history of Major League Baseball.
↵Sure, pitchers have been blasted for more runs - but often those outings included unearned runs. In fact, Mazzaro became the first pitcher since 1900 to allow 14-plus runs in less than three innings. To make matters worse, at least five starting pitchers(James Shields, Trevor Cahill, Zach Britton, Josh Johnson and Josh Beckett) have given up fewer runs ALL SEASON.
↵It was Mazzaro's seconds appearance of the season as the Royals' long reliever. Mazzaro started a game against the New York Yankees on May 11, allowing 2 runs in four innings. Against the Indians, however, with the Royals losing starting pitcher Kyle Davies to a sore shoulder after just three batters, Mazzaro was unable to give Kansas City much relief.
↵The Royals shipped Mazzaro back to AAA after the game. Epic failures have a tendency to do that to a professional athlete.
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