Twins’ Pavano loses his cool

Carl Pavano did better with a bat in his hand than throwing a baseball.

Pavano took a bat to a trashcan in the Minnesota Twins dugout after being removed in the sixth inning of a 10-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

“That’s as frustrated as I can get,” Pavano said. “It actually felt pretty good. I just kept whaling away with it. The (bat) wouldn’t break. I couldn’t break a bat in the dugout and I couldn’t break any out there (on the mound). It was embarrassing.”

Pavano was roughed up for seven runs, on a dozen hits, including Jeff Francoeur’s home run, in 5 1/3 innings.

“I told my manager (Ron Gardenhire) that it wasn’t pointed at him or anyone else,” Pavano said. “It was my frustration. Was it the most mature way to deal with it? No. It actually felt amazing. I’d like to go out and do it again.”

Pavano (2-3) has a 5.84 ERA after six starts, allowing 40 hits, 10 walks and two hit batters in 37 innings.

The Twins have lost six in a row and were swept in a three-game series by the Royals for the first time since Aug. 4-6, 1998. Minnesota dropped to 9-18, the worst record in the majors.

Martinez says he’s on way to retirement

Pedro Martinez has virtually ruled out a return to the major leagues and says he is on his way to retirement.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner gave an interview that was broadcast Sunday in the Dominican Republic.

Martinez, 38, has not pitched since the 2009 World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Dominican right-hander was recently quoted as saying he was working toward a return to the majors and his first option would be the Boston Red Sox, but Martinez said comments were taken out of context.

“I did not mean I’m going to Boston,” he said.

In 18 big league seasons, Martinez was 219-100 with a 2.93 ERA and 3,154 strikeouts with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.

Cardinals lose Freese with broken hand

The Cardinals are looking for a fill-in starter at third base after David Freese broke a bone in his left hand.

Freese was hit on his left hand by a pitch from Scott Linebrink in the sixth inning during the Atlanta Braves’ 6-5 victory over St. Louis on Sunday.

Albert Pujols moved from first base to third in the eighth, his first appearance at the position since Sept. 23, 2002, against Arizona.