In spring training, Scott Eyre said he wouldn’t put money down on a new house in Sarasota, Fla., until he had established himself as a big-league starter.
After Tuesday night’s shellacking by Seattle, the verdict is still out.
The Mariners drilled the White Sox 8-1 by pounding out a season-high five home runs. Luckily for Eyre (1-4), all four blasts that he allowed were solo shots, but that fact didn’t help ease his mind.
“I pitched like crap,” he said. “I didn’t help the club very much.”
This was a night when Sox hitters could have used a heroic performance on the mound. The South Siders managed just three hits off left-hander Jeff Fassero, who improved to 3-1.
“He was just mixing his pitches and hitting all his spots,” said shortstop Chris Snopek, who had a sixth-inning single.
“Fassero threw extremely well,” said Sox manager Jerry Manuel. “He executed his pitches and we didn’t. They’re a good-hitting club and they took advantage in this ballpark. The ball jumps out of here.”
It did for one team, at least.
David Segui took Eyre deep twice. Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. also “went yard” on the 25-year-old left-hander.
“The first pitch to Segui was up, and so was the pitch to Alex,” Eyre said. “The only good pitch was to Griffey. It was down and in, but that’s where he hits it.”
The Sox (12-18) made matters worse with their shoddy defense. Eyre overthrew second baseman Ray Durham on a force play in the fourth inning, and Robin Ventura committed his fifth error of the season when first baseman Wil Cordero couldn’t handle his throw in the dirt during the eighth.
Eyre, though, put the blame squarely on himself.
“I’m not relaxed out there,” he said. “I’m too giddy.”
Eyre, who is 5-1 lifetime at Comiskey Park, dropped to 0-7 in his career on the road.
