Hisashi Iwakuma blames 'bad balance'

Coming off a stretch of six straight shaky starts during which he has compiled a 9.12 ERA, Mariners starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma blamed his struggles on mechanics, according to the Seattle Times -- specifically, not landing properly on his plant leg.

"I'm physically healthy," Iwakuma said through interpreter Antony Suzuki. "There's no issue with that. This late in the season, we're all tired and feel fatigued at times, so we're trying to overcome that. But like I said the other day in Anaheim, it's more the balance for myself. I'm still kind of working on making my adjustments because of my bad balance. I'm not able to get ahead early in the count and that's kind of messing up my game plan."

Manager Lloyd McClendon is getting frustrated with Iwakuma's performance with the team fighting to make the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

"I'm not sure," McClendon said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned. He had six days' rest. I thought he'd be a lot sharper today."