WEST-COASTING ON OFFENSE: Robinson Cano looks on after being forced out at second base by the Mariners’ Brendan Ryan in the Yankees’ 4-1 loss in Seattle last night. (AP)
SEATTLE — Joe Girardi mentioned Hiroki Kuroda’s inability to throw his strike slider.
Kuroda agreed with the Yankees manager, the lineup did very little against Jeremy Bonderman and Reid Brignac failed to get a critical bunt down.
Yet, Brett Gardner knew where the blame for a 4-1 loss to the Mariners last night in front of 26,248 at Safeco Field belonged: on his shoulders.
With two outs, the bases empty and the Yankees leading, 1-0, in the fourth inning, Michael Morse hit a liner toward Gardner in center that went over Gardner’s head and bounced into the seats for a ground-rule double.
That fueled a four-run rally that Gardner could have prevented.
“It was a line drive and froze off the bat and it got over me,’’ Gardner said. “If I don’t freeze, I catch it for sure. Looking back the way I saw it off the bat I would do the same thing again but I expect to catch every ball. I was upset, especially after that because there were two outs and they scored four runs.’’
Those four runs were enough to get Kuroda beat. And as everybody knows, the Yankees are missing more than a few muscles in the lineup.
Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson are on the disabled list. Robinson Cano and Vernon Wells are in extended slumps. Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis are knocking off rust from long visits to the shelf.
Yet, the Yankees should have had enough firepower to light up Bonderman at Safeco Field.
Pitching for the second time since 2010, Bonderman allowed one run and three hits in six innings.
After giving up the run in the first on a ground out, the veteran right-hander retired 14 of the final 15 Yankees he faced.
The defeat halted a four-game Yankees winning streak and dropped them two games behind the front-running Red Sox in the AL East.
In two games against the Mariners the Yankees scored six runs in the third inning Thursday night and a run in the first inning last evening. That means they have been blanked in the other 16 frames.
Matched against Kuroda, Bonderman and the Mariners were huge underdogs. Instead, Kuroda left with one out in the seventh trailing, 4-1, and a runner on first base. Preston Claiborne kept it to a three-run deficit.
In 6 1/3 innings Kuroda allowed four runs and eight hits. After being 6-2 on May 17, Kuroda has gone 0-3 in the last four starts and is 6-5.
“I was not able to locate my slider in the [fourth],’’ Kuroda said.
All four runs charged to Kuroda scored in the fourth when the pitcher walked Nick Franklin and Kelly Shoppach to load the bases for Brendan Ryan, the No. 9 hitter. His single to right scored two and erased a 1-0 Yankees lead. Endy Chavez followed with a single off the second base bag, and former Met Jason Bay made it 4-1 with a two-run single to left.
Yoervis Medina replaced Bonderman to start the seventh and worked a perfect inning. He pitched into the eighth and left after issuing Brett Gardner a two-out, bases-empty walk. Lefty Charlie Furbush surfaced to face Robinson Cano and caught him looking at a 3-2 pitch.
Tom Wilhelmsen worked the ninth for a team-leading 15th save.