Mariners reliever Danny Farquhar loses fourth game over weeklong span
SEATTLE – Mariners reliever Danny Farquhar is having a week – a season, really – to forget: four losses in a seven-game span.
Farquhar’s latest stumble came Friday in a 4-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics when he served up a two-run homer to Danny Valencia in the eighth inning of a tie game.
It was enough to send the Mariners to their eighth loss in nine games. The silver lining is it can’t get much worse for Farquhar (1-8) or the Mariners.
The season ends Sunday.
Farquhar inherited a 2-2 game to start the eighth inning from Hisashi Iwakuma, a pending free agent who is making, perhaps, his final appearance for the M’s.
Josh Reddick led off with a single to right, and Valencia followed with a booming homer to center on a 1-2 fastball – a no-doubter at 411 feet.
For Farquhar, it was like a recurring nightmare.
Last Saturday at Anaheim, he served up a walk-off homer to David Freese in a 3-2 loss to the Angels. Two days later, it was Houston’s Chris Carter with a rocket in the seventh inning that provided the winning run.
On Wednesday, again against the Astros, Farquhar kept the ball in the park in the seventh inning of a tie game. But yielded a run – the winning run in still another one-run loss.
Iwakuma, limited the Athletics to two runs in seven innings in a pitchers’ duel against Oakland rookie Aaron Brooks, whom the Athletics acquired from Kansas City at the trade deadline for Ben Zobrist.
Brooks (3-4) also gave up two runs in seventh innings and got the victory when, after Valencia’s homer, Ryan Dull and Sean Doolittle protected the lead over the final two innings.
Iwakuma began the game by striking out the side on 11 pitches in the first inning but began the second inning by yielding a first-pitch double to Valencia.
Stephen Vogt’s fly to center moved Valencia to third. Iwakuma stranded Valencia by striking out Billy Butler and Brett Lawrie.
Robinson Cano started the Mariners’ second inning with a single, which extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Brooks retired the next three hitters.
Iwakuma, who ended the season at 9-5, is the fifth pitcher since 1961 to open his career with at least a .625 winning percentage in each of his first four seasons. He joins Dwight Gooden (1984-91), Roy Oswalt (2001-08), Tim Hudson (1999-04) and Teddy Higuera (1985-88).
Brad Miller had three hits for the Mariners, including his 11th home run, a solo shot in the fifth.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.