KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It was the eight straight balls that got to him. That, after all, is the opposite of what Paul Byrd is about.
With the first two Royals singling in the first inning of last night’s game, the Red Sox starter faced Billy Butler. He walked him on four pitches. Then Byrd faced Mike Jacobs with the bases loaded. He walked him on four pitches. And even though plate umpire Andy Fletcher might have squeezed Byrd, he’d still allowed a run because of his wildness.
It would get worse. By the time the inning was over, Kansas City had scored five runs. And though Byrd didn’t allow another run in his 6 2/3 innings, it hardly mattered. Not with Zack Greinke on the mound for the Royals. It was just a matter of time before the Sox fell, 5-1, in front of 21,228 at Kauffman Stadium.
“I’m frustrated,’’ Byrd said. “I’m not going to get any sleep. I thought I had great stuff tonight. I just overthrew a little bit in the first inning, just couldn’t get the outs. Against Greinke, you don’t want to be down, 5-0. It just deflates the team. Real frustrated with myself. I’m glad I came back and threw some innings and helped the bullpen out, but I’m not really here to eat innings. That’s not my job.
“I’m here to get on the mound and give our team a chance to win. Tonight, I didn’t do that. It’s a little frustrating.’’
A series against the Royals could have been a time for the Sox to gain ground. With the Yankees playing the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., and the Rangers playing the A’s in Oakland, they seemed to have a chance. But they gave away Monday night’s game, then ran up against the otherworldly Greinke.
The Cy Young Award candidate didn’t disappoint, holding the Sox to just two hits in six innings in improving to 15-8. He walked three, but he never allowed a runner past second, and that only hap pened twice (once on Dustin Pedroia’s double in the first, once on consecutive walks to J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek in the fifth).
Asked whether he thought Greinke deserves the Cy Young, David Ortiz said, “Why not? He’s got good numbers for it. Wish I could vote for the Cy Young Award winner. I might give one vote to him.’’
There was a bit of good news, however. On a night it appeared the Sox might have to go to their bullpen early, Byrd refused to kill the relievers. He fell one out short of getting through seven after settling down. But that hardly tempered his disappointment.
He had known from his warmups that he had good stuff last night. The stuff just didn’t translate on the mound in the first inning.