Buehrle takes out frustration on dugout heater

“Shelled ... then Ballistic”? Whoa…what am I back MCing Heavy Metal Fridays at KNUP’S?

During a five-run sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins—a team he has dominated during his career—the usually mild-mannered Buehrle became unglued. The left-hander stomped off the mound, headed directly toward a corner of the dugout and grabbed one of Juan Uribe’s bats. Buehrle went ballistic, whacking a dugout heater about five times with a bat that hadn’t seen this much action all season.

When he was done, Buehrle calmly returned the bat to its spot, plopped himself on the bench and folded his arms. Then he sat steaming through the rest of the inning that put the game away during the first-place Twins’ 13-1 romp at U.S. Cellular Field.

‘‘It’s frustrating, it’s embarrassing, I mean, all around, not just on myself but the way we have been playing,’’ Buehrle said. ‘‘It’s just one of those days where I couldn’t hold it back, and I let my emotions show.’‘

...Did hammering the dugout heater make Buehrle feel any better?

‘‘It did,’’ Buehrle said, ‘‘until it started smoking. Then I got worried. As far as getting it out of me, yeah, it felt pretty good.’‘