Brandon Maurer Is The Opposite Of Hisashi Iwakuma

Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Thursday night, Mariners fans were treated to a gem. Friday night, M’s fans were disgusted as they left Safeco or turned off the television.

On Thursday, Hisashi Iwakuma pitched eight innings of four-hit shutout ball as the Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 1-0. On Friday, Brandon Maurer allowed 14 hits and six runs (only four earned – sliver lining) as the Mariners lost to the Royals 6-1.

In one of those serious head-scratching moves we are all but accustomed to at this point, Maurer pitched into the 8th inning, despite allowing 11 of the 14 hits in the first seven innings. And if it weren’t for three double plays in the first four innings, the damage could’ve been way worse.

Two of the runs were unearned thanks to another bonehead throw from SS Brad Miller. With two on and no one out in the 4th, Johnny Giavotella grounded into what should have been a 6-4-3 double play to get two down and have the other runner move to 3rd.

But Miller flipped it away into right field to allow a run to score and extend the inning. Miller would turn a DP with the next batter, but another run would score to make it 4-0 at that point. To be fair, Miller did start three successful double plays in the game, including that one. But this is not the first time we’ve seen Miller let one fly.

For the 2nd night in a row, the Mariners’ bats went cold. This team that combined for 18 runs in the first three games against Oakland, have now combined for two runs in the three games since the first game of the double header. All against lefties. But that doesn’t matter because the team is actually batting better against lefties this season, barely (.229/.228).

Now, Jason Vargas is an All-Star caliber pitcher and from what I’ve read, Danny Duffy (Thursday’s starter) shows a lot of promise. So it’s not like the M’s have been facing pitchers like Maurer. But the M’s better hope they can snap out of this little cold spell before a 6-1 loss to the Royals, becomes a new 8-game losing streak.

BOX SCORE

Batting

Kansas City

Batting

S – N Aoki

SF – E Hosmer

RBI – E Hosmer (18), B Butler (14), J Giavotella (2), L Cain (6)

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – N Aoki 2, B Butler 1, J Giavotella 2

GIDP – S Perez, L Cain, M Moustakas

Team LOB – 9

Running

SB – A Escobar (11, 2nd base off B Maurer/M Zunino)

Fielding

E – N Aoki (2, field)

DP – 1 (J Giavotella-A Escobar-E Hosmer)

Seattle

Batting

2B – J Jones (1, A Crow)

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – R Cano 1, D Ackley 1

GIDP – D Ackley

Team LOB – 6

Fielding

E – B Miller (6, throw)

DP – 3 (B Miller-R Cano-J Smoak, B Miller-J Smoak, B Miller-R Cano-J Smoak)

Pitching

Kansas City

Seattle

WP – T Wilhelmsen

HBP – C Hart (by J Vargas)

Pitches-strikes – J Vargas 98-65; A Crow 19-11; T Collins 18-8; B Maurer 97-71; C Furbush 20-13; T Wilhelmsen 14-10

Ground balls-fly balls – J Vargas 11-6; A Crow 1-1; T Collins 1-0; B Maurer 17-8; C Furbush 0-2; T Wilhelmsen 1-0

Batters faced – J Vargas 25; A Crow 5; T Collins 4; B Maurer 34; C Furbush 3; T Wilhelmsen 5

Game Details

Game Time: 2:45.

Weather: 54 degrees, Partly Cloudy.

Wind: 0 mph, No Wind Direction.

Attendance: 20,858.