Frank Thomas sets record in Jays loss

A big blast from the Big Hurt wasn't enough for the Toronto Blue Jays as they dropped a 4-2 decision to the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

The loss spoiled a milestone home run for Blue Jays sluggerFrank Thomas, who broke EdgarMartinez's major-league record for homers by a designated hitter by blasting the 244th of his career.

Thomas tied the record on May 31 and took sole possession of it when hesmacked a third-inning pitch from Nationals starter Micah Bowie into the second deck at Rogers Centre.

It was also the 496th career homer for Thomas, leaving the former first baseman just four away from becoming the 21st player to reach the 500-homer plateau.

"I've been around long enough to accomplish something like that, I'm proud of that," he said. "My thoughts right now are to get this team somehow to .500, then we can really start to roll."

But Thomas's historic blast wasn't enough for the Blue Jays (33-35) to complete a sweep of the three-game interleague series against the Nationals (30-39).

Burnett headed to DL?

Ryan Zimmerman snapped a 2-2 tie with a solo homer in the fourth inning as the Nationals tagged Josh Towers (2-5) for four runs on seven hits over the Toronto starter's seven innings of work.

Bowie (4-2) gave up two runs on four hits to get the win, while Chad Cordero worked a perfect ninth inning for his 11th save.

To make matters worse for Toronto, starter A.J. Burnett is likely headed to the disabled list. The right-hander left his start last Tuesday in San Francisco with what the team called shoulder fatigue, and it has persisted into Sunday, as he felt stiff and sore when he tried to throw.

If he does indeed go on the DL, Burnett would be eligible to come off June 28. The Blue Jays would need a starter for next Saturday to replace him.

"He's still feeling it and we're not going to throw him out there if he's still feeling it," said manager John Gibbons. "We got to get rid of it before he throws anyway."