Burnett calls wild effort 'embarrassing' after loss

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OAKLAND, Calif. -- There wasn’t much consoling A.J. Burnett, not after the Phillies’ pitcher matched his season high of six walks -- four of which scored.

It was a familiar theme for the right-hander, who continued to stumble through the worst season of his 16-year major-league career in Sunday's 8-6 loss to the A's (see Instant Replay). About the only thing that went right for Burnett is that he avoided becoming the first Phillies pitcher with 18 or more losses in a single season since Steve Carlton went 13-20 in 1973.

For now.

Not even passing Charlie Hough for 43rd place on baseball’s career strikeout list was enough to polish up this mess.

“I didn’t get anything done today, man,” Burnett said as he stood in the din of the Phillies' clubhouse. “Being inconsistent in the strike zone is very frustrating. You’d rather give up 20 hits and 20 runs rather than walk them on the base and give them free passes.

“When you’re walking guys, constantly putting guys on base, not only does it give them a upper hand but it deflates your offense as well.”

Indeed, the Phillies broke out with their highest scoring total since beating the Washington Nationals 9-8 in 11 innings on Sept. 5.

They went to extras with the A’s, overcoming deficits of 3-1, 4-3 and 6-4 before Miguel Gonzalez gave up a game-ending, two-run home run to Oakland slugger Josh Donaldson with one out in the 10th.

“We had a couple of two-out rallies to score some runs,” manager Ryne Sandberg said after his club fell to 2-5 on its final road trip of the season. “The offense kept battling back and the bullpen overall did a good job to get us some chances.”

The Phillies outhit the A’s 13-9 and knocked Oakland starter Scott Kazmir out of the game in the sixth inning. They had five doubles and one triple, tying the game on Ben Revere’s two-out single in the sixth.

It didn’t matter, not on a day when Burnett allowed the A’s to score one of their runs without a hit. He walked three and hit Adam Dunn in the third to help give Oakland a 4-3 lead.

Burnett, who began the day with a leadoff walk to Coco Crisp, walked two more in the fifth and was done after that. Both of those runners scored when Geovany Soto doubled off reliever Cesar Jimenez.

“I didn’t make any pitches today from the get-go,” Burnett said. “We jumped out to the lead (and) the shutdown inning wasn’t there. Then in the last inning, I walked more guys. I just walked ‘em all. It’s embarrassing.”

The control issues are nothing new for Burnett.

He has walked 15 batters in his last four starts. Overall, he leads the majors with 93 walks.

Sandberg can’t figure out why.

“You know what? His stuff is still there,” the Phillies' skipper said. “Four of the walks scored so that came back to haunt him, but he was just off the plate. He wasn’t able to work ahead in the count. But … the stuff still comes out of his hand good. The zip’s on the ball and he still has a good breaking pitch when it’s for strikes.”

That is of little solace to Burnett.

He’s dropped three consecutive decisions and has won just twice in his last 13 starts.

Burnett did raise his career strikeout total to 2,363, enough to slip past Hough. Sandy Koufax is next on the list with 2,396.

Still, he left the field at O.co Coliseum angry when he was pulled with one out in the fifth.

“I was upset because the guys came out swinging the bat,” Burnett said. “I don’t think I would have been as upset if I would have got hit around the yard. But to be wild like that, it’s just hard to swallow. It’s embarrassing to me, it’s embarrassing to this team.”

Burnett only allowed three hits but he did hit Dunn in the third after getting ahead in the count, extending the A’s inning.

The walks are the biggest problem, however. Burnett’s 93 walks are the second-most of his career. He gave up 97 free passes in 2009 while pitching for the New York Yankees.

Like Sandberg, Burnett is stymied for a reason why.

“I can’t give you that answer,” he said.

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