Phil Hughes 1 out shy of $500K bonus

Phil Hughes likely lost $500,000 because of a persistent rainstorm.

Hughes pitched eight innings Wednesday in the Minnesota Twins' 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, a game that was delayed 66 minutes due to rain.

It was the final start of the season for Hughes, who fell one-third of an inning short of triggering a $500,000 innings bonus in his contract with the Twins. The right-hander has thrown 209 2/3 innings this season; his contract stipulates that he would receive the bonus if he reaches 210 innings pitched.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters after the game that he will not use Hughes out of the bullpen this weekend. The former All-Star acknowledged that he is aware of the situation regarding his bonus.

"I was very aware of it, but some things aren't meant to be," Hughes said, according to MLB.com.

Umpires delayed the game when rain began falling hard enough that it was dripping off the brim of Hughes' cap as he walked off the mound after the eighth inning.

Hughes (16-10), whose base salary is $8 million, already earned a pair of $250,000 bonuses for reaching 180 and 195 innings.

He did set a single-season major league record for strikeout-to-walk ratio, finishing the season with 186 strikeouts and 16 walks. His 11.63 ratio became the best of all time for pitchers with a qualifying number of innings.

Hughes beat Bret Saberhagen, who had 143 strikeouts and 13 walks for the New York Mets in 1994 for an 11.00 ratio. Hughes struck out five without a walk Wednesday and allowed only a sacrifice fly by David Peralta in the sixth inning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.