The highly anticipated debut of right-hander Trevor May turned out pretty badly for him and for the Twins Saturday night. May lasted just two innings against the Oakland A’s, giving up seven walks and allowing four runs en route to a 9-4 loss in Oakland, MLB.com reports.
May sounded confident before the game that he would be able to manage the excitement of his first Major League game. But in what the Star Tribune described as “one of the most cringe-worthy displays of first-day jitters in recent memory,” May could not find the strike zone.
He threw 63 pitches in his two innings but only 28 of them went for strikes, according to MLB.com.
May got an out on his very first pitch, when Oakland’s Coco Crisp popped out in foul territory. But things went south after that when he gave up two hits and two walks, which scored a run.
The second inning was worse, when May walked five more batters and gave up three more runs.
The seven walks were a season high by any Twins pitcher, according to the Star Tribune, and the most May had given up since July 18, 2012, when he walked eight batters while pitching for Class AA Reading in the Phillies organization.
Trevor May: "It was case of lot of things: excitement, getting used to the ball, all kinds of stuff. But no excuse for not making pitches."
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) August 10, 2014
Gardy on Trevor May: "Kid had a hard time. He'll have another shot when his chance comes up. Gotta be able to regroup & gather yourself."
— Chris Long (@ChrisLongKSTP) August 10, 2014
Samuel Deduno relieved May in the third, and he gave up five runs on five hits in three innings. All five of the A’s runs came in on homers, according to MLB.com.
The Twins scored two runs off A’s starter Jeff Samardzija — one in the first inning and one in the sixth. They brought in two more runs in the eighth inning off reliever Dan Otero, but it wasn’t enough.
The Twins have now lost 12 straight games to the A’s, a streak that began on Sept. 11, 2013. The Twins will try to salvage the last game of their four-game series Sunday afternoon in Oakland.
As for Trevor May, he’s scheduled to make his next start Friday at Target Field against the Royals.
Roster moves
The Twins traded pitcher Kevin Correia Sunday to the Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the club announced after Saturday’s loss to the A’s.
The team also announced that left-hander Tommy Milone will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Correia’s spot in the rotation, and Milone will start against the Astros on Monday.
Correia, 33, went 5-13 with a 4.94 ERA in 23 starts with the Twins this season. Correia signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Twins before last season. He was the club’s most consistent starter last year, posting a 4.18 ERA in 31 starts.
