“You got roughed up but you did your job.”

That what Skip said to me in the locker room afterwards. Like that would make me feel any better.

When I entered the game, we were trailing 5-2 in the sixth and I was left with runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out.

It wasn’t an ideal situation, but they all can’t be winners right?

The brief mound discussion was about the pinch hitter strolling to the plate. A lanky chap with mutton chops, in a perfect world he would start at 5-4-3 triple play on my first pitch.

But we don’t live in a perfect world.

He wasn’t bunting, but my inside fastball broke his bat and caused a slow roller towards third. So it may as well have been a bunt.

The result was 2nd and 3rd, 1 out. The next guy worked the count to 2-2 before reaching for a change up and popping it up down the right field line.

Chooch got to the ball, but was in no position to throw anyone out and the run scored.

Frustrated with my luck or lack there of any, I threw a first pitch fastball that was dinked into left-center for a run-scoring single.

I had allowed both runners to score and now we were down 5. What was once a close game was suddenly a blow out and I hadn’t done much wrong or right.

Skip left me in for the rest of the game. With an upcoming stretch of games, I was a much-needed day off for the guys in the pen.

But my job is to prevent runs. I failed that and we don’t celebrate failure.