Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson couldn't make it out of the fifth inning in Wednesday's loss, giving up four earned runs on seven hits and six walks in 4 1/3 innings while striking out one in his team's 5-3 defeat against the Rays.
"It was just lack of control as we got later on in the game," Masterson said, per MLB.com. "The first part was great, first three innings. The fourth, mixed through it. The fifth was kind of a culmination. Just couldn't make the adjustment out there to get back to throwing strikes. Close, but not close enough."
Masterson (2-1) threw just 49 of his 96 pitches for strikes and has now walked three batters or more in four of his last five games. He gave up a run on a single in the third inning and another on a solo home run in the fourth before watching two more runs score on a bases-loaded single in the fifth, which followed a pair of free passes and ended his night.
"For a little bit there I felt like I was in the refilming of Major League," he said. "I could hear the ump saying, 'Ball four, ball eight, ball 12, tried the corner and missed.'"
Masterson owns a 5.18 ERA and 23:18 K:BB ratio in 33 innings. He's scheduled to face the A's in Oakland Tuesday.