Guthrie, Orioles overpowered by Mariners

By Dan Connolly | dan.connolly@baltsun.com

June 11, 2009

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There have been several differences between the Jeremy Guthrie of 2009 and the pitcher who emerged as the Orioles' ace and one of the American League's most consistent hurlers last year.

The most glaring, though, cost him again Wednesday night in a 4-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners in front of an announced 12,770.

Coming off his shortest outing as a big leaguer and a week of preparation in which he was "out of whack," Guthrie said he felt as good on the mound Wednesday night as he had at any other time this season.

It didn't matter because Guthrie (4-6) again was haunted by a couple of bad pitches.

Guthrie allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and no walks, but Mariners second baseman Jose Lopez twice homered on hanging sliders - a solo shot in the second and a two-run blast in the sixth.

"The home runs have come on pitches that have not been located, and I'm sure he would agree with that," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "They just have not been located well. They've been mistakes, and mistakes more times than not are going to get hit."

Guthrie has allowed 16 homers - most in the American League - in 73 1/3 innings this season. In 2008, he served up 24 in 190 2/3 innings.

"It's a result of pitching, pitching in the zone and pitching up at times," Guthrie said. "I think that the track record is different, so I'm hoping for things to turn around."

It was the fifth time in 13 starts he has allowed multiple homers; he did it six times all last season. Still, he isn't changing his approach.

"I am never going to focus on not trying to allow home runs," he said. "Because I think the moment you do that, you really get out of your game and you do things differently than what you have in the past."

It was Guthrie's sixth quality start in 13 outings, but his ERA sits at 5.52, nearly two runs higher than his mark last year.

"I am going to continue to worry about trying to pitch better, which is what I have done the past two or three years," he said. "I have always done the same thing. Unfortunately, this year ... the numbers would say the results are different."

On Wednesday, Guthrie allowed base runners in every inning after the first but kept the Orioles close until the sixth, when Lopez's second homer gave the Mariners a three-run lead. That was plenty for Felix Hernandez (6-3) against an Orioles offense that has seemingly forgotten how to score.

For the ninth time in 10 games, the Orioles (25-34) have plated three or fewer runs. They are 2-8 in that span.

"Our opportunities against Hernandez were few and far between," Trembley said. "And the ones that we did have, we didn't capitalize on. [Hernandez] just pitched a better game. That simple."

Hernandez, who is 4-0 with a 2.84 ERA lifetime at Camden Yards, wasn't at his best. The Orioles had runners on base in six of the seven innings in which he pitched. But they managed just one run, when Matt Wieters doubled to lead off the fifth and Brian Roberts singled him home.

Roberts had three hits against Hernandez and looked to ignite the slumbering offense early on. He led off the first with a double, and Adam Jones followed with a walk. But Hernandez set down the next three batters in order, with a little help from Seattle first baseman Russell Branyan, who made a nice stab on a grounder by Aubrey Huff.

"That's just the way it has been," said Huff, who was hitless in four at-bats and has one RBI over his past 12 games. "The way I am swinging the bat, it seems that's the way it has been going for me lately."

It's also been a rocky time for Guthrie, who has surrendered two runs or fewer just twice this season compared with 17 times in 2008.

"Everything I am doing other than results would indicate that [I am] pain-free," Guthrie said. "There is no pain. I feel 100 percent great physically. Banged up a little bit mentally, but nothing we can't fix as professional baseball players."