NEW YORK — The stench from Clay Buchholz' final start of the season might reek so much that it lingers until spring training.

Rather than doing his part Monday night to damage the New York Yankees' chances of winning the AL East, Buchholz threw up one of the worst starts of his career. He allowed eight runs on six hits, including three home runs, recorded only five outs and left the Red Sox in a nine-run hole in the second inning of a 10-2 New York rout at Yankee Stadium.

“I'm disappointed,” Buchholz said flatly.

After a perfect first inning, Buchholz allowed a leadoff homer to Robinson Cano and back-to-back shots by Curtis Granderson and Russell Martin in the second. Buchholz walked Eric Chavez and Derek Jeter, then gave up a single to Ichiro Suzuki and a sacrifice fly to Alex Rodriguez before Cano lined a two-run double, knocking Buchholz from the game and marking the third-shortest start of his career.

Buchholz said he was generally pleased with his season, especially considering how poorly it began. And while it's true that he had a 3.62 ERA in 23 starts after posting a 9.09 ERA in his first six, he also didn't earn a victory after Aug. 16, going 0-5 in his final eight outings.

Overall, Buchholz tossed a career-high 189 1/3 innings and finished at 11-8 with a 4.56 ERA. None of the Sox starters will finish with an ERA better than the league average.

“It started pretty bad, and I ended up coming back and having a good second half for the most part,” Buchholz said. “I felt pretty good all season. It's a step in the right direction, but not a big enough one, I guess.”