Gaudin goes back to the start

Chad Gaudin found himself in an unfamiliar position Sunday afternoon.

The San Francisco right-hander took the mound to start a game for the first time in over three years and tossed six strong innings to lead the Giants to a 4-2 win over the Cardinals in St. Louis, ending the Giants’ seven-game road skid.

Gaudin (1-1), in his first start since Sept. 28, 2009 as a member of the New York Yankees, allowed four hits and two runs, both coming on David Freese’s homer in the fourth. He struck out five and did not walk a batter. Gaudin, who set the side down in order in four of six innings, is temporarily replacing Ryan Vogelsong in the rotation. Vogelsong broke several bones in his right hand May 20.

“It was nice,” Gaudin said of the starting assignment, “I made a couple of minor league starts, but it was refreshing to get back out there and do that.”

San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said Gaudin’s performance came at a perfect time for his beleaguered staff.

“He gave us a huge shot in the arm,” he said. “He went out there and threw quality strikes and actually went a little further than we ever thought.”

Bochy said before the game that he was hoping to get four, maybe five innings from Gaudin.

Instead, Gaudin rolled through six on 79 pitches, 55 strikes. In his first start after 117 successive relief appearances, Gaudin earned his first win since Oct. 2, 2012 when he was a reliever with Miami.

“I wanted to go out there and give the team a chance to win and also give them some innings,” Gaudin said. “I thought I was throwing aggressively and pitching with what I had.”

No proof of age for Yankees ‘oldest fan’

A fan who claims he’s 111 years old and was saluted by the New York Yankees on the field this weekend has no proof of his age.

Bernando LaPallo chatted with Yankees star Derek Jeter before Saturday’s game against Boston at Yankee Stadium. The Arizona resident playfully calls himself the Yankees’ oldest fan.

But a consultant with Guinness World Records who specializes in validating the ages of older people said public records show LaPallo was born in 1910, not on Aug. 17, 1901.

LaPallo told the AP on Sunday that many people doubt him because he’s in such good condition.

“It is hard to believe,” he said by phone. “And because I can pass for 65 or 70, people say it’s impossible.”