BOSTON -- Following Sunday's 9-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in 17 innings, Darnell McDonald didn't know what was worse, the three-run bomb he let up to Adam Jones in the top of the 17th, or the game-ending double play that he hit into off Orioles designated hitter Chris Davis.
Both McDonald and Davis took the mound in relief appearances when their respective bullpens had been emptied. Both finished the game. Only one got the loss.
"You want to come in and throw strikes," said McDonald after his second career appearance as a pitcher. "That's the main thing. They got a couple people on base, and I left one out over the plate."
Jones' 17th-inning home run off McDonald gave the Orioles a 9-6 lead, and when the Red Sox got two base runners in the bottom of the 17th, McDonald stepped to the plate representing the tying run with one out.
McDonald grounded into a double play, and the game ended in disappointment.
"I don't know what's worse, giving up the three-run home run or grounding into a double play to end the game," said McDonald. "Davis got the win, so, hats off to him.
"I had an opportunity to tie it up though," added McDonald. "As a pitcher, pitchers don't usually get a chance to do that. So, that's what I'm most disappointed about, my at-bat at the end there."