WASHINGTON -- Chalk up another first for Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jonny Venters.
On Wednesday, Venters made the first start of his career. He didn't make it out of the first inning, however.
Venters allowed five runs -- all earned -- on three hits and two walks while recording only one out. The Washington Nationals won handily on Wednesday, 11-2, with Venters taking the loss to fall to 1-1 on the season.
In April, the Rays reliever, who has undergone three full Tommy John surgeries, plus another ligament reattachment procedure which he refers to as half a Tommy John, returned to the major leagues for the first time since 2012. On May 28, the lefty recorded the save in a 1-0 victory over the Oakland A's, his first save since Aug. 22, 2011.
"I just didn't get it done," said Venters, who came up through the minors as a starter but had served in relief for every one of his previous 244 big league appearances.
In his inaugural starting gig, he allowed almost as many baserunners in a third of an inning (5) as he had in 10.1 innings of relief (6).
"Didn't make good pitches," Venters said. "The pitches I threw over the plate caught too much plate and they didn't miss them. They put some good swings on them. I walked two left-handed guys. It was disappointing. Didn't do my job today. I don't think the role or whatever you want to call it had anything to do with it. I just didn't pitch well."
An All-Star with the Atlanta Braves in 2011, Venters' ERA was 0.87 in 14 games with the Rays before Wednesday. His ERA is now 5.06.
He had been been especially tough against lefty hitters, limiting them to an .059 average (1-for-17). That success factored into the decision to start him against Washington. But he walked Bryce Harper and Juan Soto, the only two lefties he faced Wednesday.
"He probably didn't have the best command I've seen him have," manager Kevin Cash said. "I don't think he had his sinker going as much as we've seen. Just ended up being one of those days."
Venters, 33, is the latest reliever to start a game for a Tampa Bay team that has recently begun to blur the traditional line between the rotation and the bullpen. Sergio Romo, a 35-year-old right-handed reliever who has saved 85 games during his career, has started five games for the Rays over the past three weeks.
Overall, Tampa Bay has a losing record (3-5) in games started by pitchers who've historically worked in short relief. Given the small sample size, Cash is hesitant to pass judgment on his team's out-of-the-box strategy.
"When it works, it feels pretty good when it's happening," the Rays skipper said. "But when it doesn't, it's pretty gut wrenching because you sit there and you say, yeah you're taking two guys out of a spot, you're asking two guys to do something differently. We're all human in this, and you care about emotions, feelings, thoughts, and all that. Today was one of those gut-wrenching days that it didn't go our way and it kind of smacked us right in the face. But one bad outing or one bad whatever you want to call it, I don't think it's fair to get away from it."
Venters became the major-league leading 12th starting pitcher used by the Rays this season, their most through 60 games in franchise history. The Rays used eight starters all last season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.