Buente Picks Up Loss In Debut

The Boiling Point: Former Purdue pitcher Jay Buente allowed four runs in three innings during his MLB debut on Sunday.

Former Purdue pitcher Jay Buente drew a tough assignment for his first major league start on Sunday. Buente had to battle Tampa starter James Shields who struck out a career-high 13 batters and allowed just three hits in a 4-0 win.

Buente, who was called up when Josh Johnson hit the disabled list, gave up four runs in three innings. He allowed five hits and walked three.

"“Every time you go out you want to get your team deep in the game and I didn’t do that,” Buente said. “It’s a little disappointing as far as that goes.”"

Buente looked as if he might get out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the second when he got Shields to hit a grounder to third. But Greg Dobbs booted the potential double play ball to allow one run to score and Elliot Johnson followed with a fielder’s choice to make it 2-0.

"“(My command) was inconsistent today,” Buente told MLB.com. “The thing I struggled with a little bit last year was letting the game speed me up, and I did it a few times today with a few hitters for no particular reason. I think with experience I’ll be able to eliminate that.”"