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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Batters 0-46 against Petit

San Francisco right-hander Yusmeiro Petit set a MLB record by retiring 46 consecutive batters. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

Yusmeiro Petit set a major league record when he retired his 46th batter in a row, and the San Francisco Giants beat the visiting Colorado Rockies 4-1 on Thursday for their third straight win.

Petit (4-3) got the first eight Colorado hitters, and established the mark by striking out Charlie Culberson. That broke Mark Buehrle’s record of 45 straight with the Chicago White Sox in 2009. Former Spirit Lake resident and Lakeland High School graduate Bobby Jenks had the record in 2007 when he retired 41 straight for the White Sox.

The announced crowd of 41,017 at AT&T Park gave Petit a standing ovation before his streak ended when the next batter, Rockies pitcher Jordan Lyles, doubled to left field. Charlie Blackmon followed with a single to drive in Colorado’s only run.

Petit, a 29-year-old journeyman from Venezuela, fell one strike short of a perfect game against Arizona last September. His streak covered eight games, six of them in relief.

Tanaka throws simulated game

Masahiro Tanaka continues closing in on a return few outside of the Yankees thought was possible in early July.

“I’m optimistic,” manager Joe Girardi said after the right-hander made it through a 49-pitch, three-inning simulated game Thursday morning at Comerica Park in Detroit.

But while Girardi indicated Tanaka potentially could be ready after two rehab outings, the first of which would be in five or six days, the pitcher spoke cautiously, telling the Japanese media he felt two rehab outings might not be enough to get him ready for big-league games.

And in speaking with the American media, Tanaka, on the disabled list since July 9 with a slight tear of his right ulnar collateral ligament, said he felt “the rust is still there” with his pitches.

“I still have some work to do to get back to game ready,” he said, saying later he was more “cautious” than “excited” about making it back to the rotation this season.

Tanaka, who is 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA this season, was encouraged in that he has not had any setbacks with the elbow, the only soreness he felt was the “normal soreness” a pitcher feels immediately after throwing. The Yankees continue to hope Tanaka can avoid Tommy John surgery.

The important part was Tanaka not having any pain in the elbow.

“I didn’t see him favoring anything,” Girardi said. “It was a step in the right direction.”