Jeremy Guthrie’s outing Monday was brief but memorable — in a bad way.
The one-time BYU pitcher and offseason Utah resident put together one of the worst starts in major league history against the New York Yankees, allowing 11 runs on nine hits and three walks in one inning of work. He also served up four home runs as the Kansas City Royals wound up losing 14-1.
Guthrie joined Jason Jennings (Houston, 2007) as the only pitchers in MLB’s live ball era to start a game by allowing 11 or more runs in one inning of work (granted, at least Guthrie made it to the second inning). That, by the way is a 99.00 ERA for the outing or 65.00 FIP, a sabermetric stat similar to ERA that views a pitcher independently from his surroundings.
The bad outing jumped Guthrie’s season ERA 1.95 points from 4.75 to 6.70 in just one inning of work. The righty entered the game on a three-game winning streak in which he had allowed just four runs in 18 1/3 innings (1.96 ERA).
“Clearly, this is an outing that’s very rare, thankfully, for pitchers. You go back and try to prepare the same way, and hopefully get better results,” Guthrie told Kansas City Star beat writer Andy McCullough after the game.
Guthrie didn’t pitch the rest of the week after the game. However, he’s set to pitch against Cleveland this Monday.
Tyler Wagner struggles in MLB debut, sent back to Double-A Biloxi
Former Utah pitcher Tyler Wagner struggled in his major league debut with the Milwaukee Brewers, allowing a season-worst five runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings against Arizona on Sunday, but picked up a no-decision in the team’s 7-6 win over the Diamondbacks in 17 innings.
The righty served up a solo home run to Paul Goldschmidt in the first inning before giving up three more runs in the second inning and one more in the third inning. Fifty-one of Wagner’s 79 total pitches were strikes. He had only allowed more than two runs once in nine starts with Double-A Biloxi this season.
“It’s obviously not what I hoped for, but it’s a learning experience,” Wagner told MLB’s Brandon Curry after the game. “I’m excited to get back out there.”
Milwaukee then optioned Wagner back down to Biloxi. The move wasn’t surprising after the Brewers were forced to use Monday’s starter, Matt Garza, in the game Sunday after running out of relief pitchers.
Tom Haudricourt, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reports that Wagner was originally supposed to remain in the majors regardless of his performance Sunday, but the team was forced to call up Tyler Cravy from Triple-A Colorado Springs as an extra arm to help out its depleted staff.
C.J. Cron sent back to Salt Lake
The Los Angeles Angels optioned struggling ex-Utah slugger C.J. Cron back to Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday. The former Ute responded by crushing the first pitch he saw since the demotion for a solo home run on Wednesday.
Cron had been hitting .204 with one home run and six RBIs in 31 games, but on a non-every-day basis, and had come in as a pinch-hitter on several occasions. The demotion allows Cron to see more playing time.
“I came down here to get some at-bats, try to get things right and hopefully be back out,” Cron said prior to Salt Lake’s game against Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
He added he plans on using the time in Salt Lake to work on his timing on his swing, which suffered with the lack of consistent playing time. One anonymous MLB scout said Cron has a type of swing that’s negatively affected by not playing every day, which is why the demotion made sense.
Cron went 8-for-19 in his first four games back in Salt Lake, with two home runs, two doubles, five RBIs and four runs scored.
Other odds and ends
The Brewers placed Dixie State alum Brandon Kintzler on disabled list Friday with left knee tendinitis retroactive to Thursday.
A pair of pitchers with ties to Utah extended their streaks without allowing an earned run over the week. Bingham High alum Brady Lail (Double-A Trenton) pushed his streak to 17 innings without allowing an earned run on Sunday, while Utah alum Trey Nielsen (Single-A Palm Beach) extended his streak to 12 innings on Wednesday.
Former Ute Parker Morin made his season debut on Saturday in Single-A Wilmington. The catcher went 0-for-3 in his first game back. Morin had spent the season in extended spring training.
MLB
Christian Colon (Taylorsville H.S.), Kansas City Royals: One hit in three at-bats over the week. Colon is batting .286 with four RBIs and four runs scored in 22 games this season.
Jeremy Guthrie (BYU), Kansas City Royals: Allowed nine hits, three walks and 11 runs in one inning of work, picking up a loss as the New York Yankees pounded Kansas City 14-1 on Monday. Guthrie also allowed four home runs in the start.
The one-time Cougar fell to 4-3 on the season, while his ERA jumped from 4.75 to 6.70 on the year.
Brandon Kintzler (Dixie State), Milwaukee Brewers: Allowed one hit and struck out a batter in one inning of work on Monday, as Milwaukee fell to San Francisco 8-4. Kintzler then was designated for assignment on Friday, but that action was quickly rescinded and he was instead placed on the disabled list with left knee tendinitis retroactive to Thursday.
He has a 6.43 ERA in seven games with the Brewers this season.
Tyler Wagner (Utah), Milwaukee Brewers: Allowed five runs on nine hits and one walk in his MLB debut, picking up a no-decision in Milwaukee’s 7-6 win in 17 innings on Sunday. He also struck out a pair of batters. Wagner got called up from Double-A Biloxi after going 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA in nine starts with the Shuckers.
Wagner’s first stint in the majors was brief, however. The Brewers optioned the righty back to Double-A Biloxi following the game.
Triple-A
Matt Carson (BYU), Nashville (Oakland Athletics): Five hits, including five RBIs and two runs scored, in 24 at-bats over the week. Carson has 17 RBIs and seven extra base hits in 42 games this season.
C.J. Cron (Utah), Salt Lake (Los Angeles Angels): Eight hits, including two home runs, two doubles, five RBIs and four runs scored in 19 at-bats over the week. Cron homered in his first two games after his demotion to Salt Lake.
Braeden Schlehuber (Viewmont H.S.), Gwinnett (Atlanta Braves): One hit and one run scored in eight at-bats over the week. The Viewmont High product is batting .167 in 30 games this year.
Matt Spring (Dixie State), Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox): One hit in six at-bats over the week. Spring is batting .167, with three home runs, nine RBIs and five runs scored in 25 games.
Double-A
Jaycob Brugman (BYU), Midland (Oakland Athletics): Twelve hits, including two RBIs and nine runs scored in 24 at-bats over the week. Brugman picked up five hits and two RBIs in Midland’s 8-7 loss to Corpus Christi on Monday. He followed that a few days later with a four-hit performance with a pair of runs scored on Saturday as the team’s leadoff hitter.
Brugman, who is batting .282 on the season, is 15-of-38 (.395) over his last 10 games. He also has 20 RBIs and 24 runs scored in 48 games this season.
Taylor Cole (BYU), New Hampshire (Toronto Blue Jays): 0-1, 6.52 ERA in two separate starts over the week. Cole allowed five runs in five innings on 11 hits on Monday, picking up a loss as New Hampshire fell to Altoona 9-4 on Monday.
He then allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings, picking up a no-decision in New Hampshire’s 6-5 loss at New Britain on Saturday. Cole slipped to 2-4 on the year, with a 5.07 ERA in 10 starts.
Jacob Hannemann (BYU), Tennessee (Chicago Cubs): Two hits and three RBIs and one run scored in 15 at-bats over the week. Hannemann’s biggest moment came on the field, however. The former BYU outfielder robbed Mobile’s Brandon Drury of a go-ahead extra base hit with a leaping grab in the 12th inning of a game on Wednesday. Tennessee went on to win 3-2. The play wound up No. 2 on SportsCenter.
Brady Lail (Bingham H.S.), Trenton (New York Yankees): 1-0, 0.00 ERA in two appearances over the week. Lail pitched briefly in relief on Wednesday, not factoring in Trenton’s 4-3 over Akron. He scattered just one hit and one walk in five shutout innings in his lone start of the week on Sunday. The South Jordan native improved to 3-2 since his promotion to Double-A, while lowering his ERA down to 2.52 in 39 1/3 innings.
Lail also extended a streak to 17 straight innings without allowed an earned run. He also has allowed just one earned run over his last 22 innings, dating back to May 6, and posted a 1.38 ERA over the month.
Adam Law (BYU), Tulsa (Los Angeles Dodgers): Four hits, including an RBI and two runs scored in 19 at-bats over the week. Law is batting .190 in 11 games with Tulsa.
Marcus Littlewood (Pine View H.S.), Jackson (Seattle Mariners): One hit in five at-bats over the week. Littlewood is batting .174 with two RBIs in seven games since moving up to Jackson.
Adam Miller (BYU), Mobile (Arizona Diamondbacks): 0-0, 0.00 ERA and one save in two outings over the week. Miller picked up his sixth save in seven changes on Thursday, closing out Tennessee in the ninth inning of Mobile’s 3-0 win. He also pitched a scoreless inning in Mobile’s 5-1 victory over Tennessee on Sunday.
The righty has a 2.84 ERA in 19 innings this season, with 22 strikeouts and just five walks.
Single-A
Eddy Alvarez (Salt Lake C.C.), Kannapolis (Chicago White Sox): Five hits, including one RBI and five runs scored in 22 at-bats over the week. Alverez scored at least one run in five of the six games he played in. The former Olympian is batting .278 with 21 RBIs and 32 runs scored in 48 games this season.
Tanner Banks (Utah), Kannapolis (Chicago White Sox): Allowed three runs on four hits in Kannapolis’s 12-6 loss to Hagerstown on Friday. The lefty has a 7.94 ERA in 5 2/3 innings this season.
Bubba Blau (Dixie State), AZL Brewers (Milwaukee Brewers): Has not pitched this season.
Nick Green (Utah), Wilmington (Kansas City Royals): 0-0, 20.25 ERA in two appearances over the week. After a scoreless frame pitched on Thursday, Green allowed six runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in relief on Sunday. The Blue Rocks fell to Carolina 7-0. Green’s ERA jumped from 4.58 on the year to 6.98 after the game.
Parker Morin (Utah), Wilmington (Kansas City Royals): Zero hits in five at-bats over the week. Morin joined Wilmington on Saturday for his first game of the year after starting the season in extended spring training.
Trey Nielsen (Utah), Palm Beach (St. Louis Cardinals): Allowed just one unearned run on one hit and one walk over seven innings, while striking out six in Palm Beach’s 4-1 win over Tampa on Wednesday. Nielsen improved to 4-3 on the year and lowered his ERA down to 2.53 in the win — down nearly a full point over his last two outings in which he hasn’t allowed an earned run.
Dominique Taylor (Northridge H.S.), Wilmington (Kansas City Royals): One hit and one run scored in 18 at-bats over the week. Taylor is batting .226 in 46 games this season, with one home run and nine RBIs.
Keenyn Walker (Judge Memorial H.S.), Winston-Salem (Chicago White Sox): Seven hits, three RBIs and three runs scored in 19 at-bats over the week. He drove in a pair of runs on a two-run single in Winston-Salem’s 4-2 loss to Lynchburg on Wednesday. He also stole a base in the game.
The Judge Memorial product is batting .269 with 10 extra base hits, 12 RBIs and 29 runs scored in 50 games this season.
Mitch Watrous (Utah), AZL Padres (San Diego Padres): Out after undergoing shoulder surgery. His timetable to return is unclear.