Hisashi Iwakuma drops second straight

Mariners starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma struggled with long ball Friday against Oakland, as he dropped his second start in a row to the Atheltics.

Iwakuma allowed four runs in the game, each on a home run; he gave up a two-run shot in the first, followed by solo homers in the fourth and sixth innings. Iwakuma allowed six hits in seven innings of work, and did not walk a batter.

Iwakyma struck out six batters while throwing 70 of 98 pitches for strikes, as he took the 6-3 loss. Iwakuma is now 7-3 on the season, but he has dropped his last two starts, while seeing his ERA rise from 1.79 to 2.26.

Iwakuma will try to halt his slide in his next start, scheduled for Friday against the Cubs.